Pantheon
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Overview

Pantheon is a self-described massive t h i n k-tank which observes the world looking for d i sasters in the making. Once one is sighted , Pantheon then takes appropriate steps to avert that disaster. Its main base of operations is called The Mount, but the Pantheon also supports a n u m ber of smaller bases all over the world for their wide-ranging operative network. The Mount is a selfcontained world with over 1 500 people in residence. O ne-third of the population is n uclear families. The population is largely vegetarian, supported by The Mou nt's extensive agricultural and aquacultural facilities. They have highly advanced science facilities and their offensive and defensive capabilities are quite formidable. Pantheon's leader, Agamemnon , resides deep within the bowels of The Mount and uses a holographic image to communicate with those who are aiding him i n his dream . He neither claims nor denies that he is the Agamemnon, King of Argos and commander-in-chief of the G reek army against Troy. He does claim immortality, as his mother was an Earth woman and h is father a god . The Agamemnon of antiqu ity was both the paternal great-grandson of Tantalus (a son of Zeus) and mate r n a l g reat-greatgrandson of Ares. He also claims to have assumed dozens of identities and have fathered hund reds of children. Agamemnon of Argos fathered one son , Orestes, and three daughters, I phigenia, Electra, and Chrysothemis, before his death at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra and! or his nephew Aegisthus. Shortly after Bruce Banner was cu red by Dr. Samson, Pantheon showed up to recruit the n ew H u l k to its cause. Through a series of misu nderstandings this recruitment visit escalated i nto a street fight in which Banner finally allowed himself to be captu red so he could learn more about this group and u ltimately put an end to their activities. Once at The Mount, Banner met Agamemnon and after observing their operation for a while, was persuaded to join Pantheo n . Ban ner's first official mission for Pantheon was to keep an eye on actress and recent Soviet emigre Nadia Dornova who was starring on Broadway in " M etamorphosis." Dornova was once married to E m i l B l o n s ky, a . k . a . the Abomination . When one of Pantheon's field operatives reported that she was being stalked by a mysterious bruiser, Pantheon rightly figu red the H u l k was the man for the job. Banner and Rick Jones were watching Dornova's performance and waiting for the Abomination to show on the night when half of the 86 Earth's population vanished. Duri ng the mass panic which ensued after half of the audience disappeared, Nadia ended up lying unconscious at the feet of the Abomination. The Abomination took this as a sign from God and took her in the sewers with him for her own protection. The Hulk pursued Nadia and the Abomination into the sewers. Du ring their brief battle, the Hulk was sucked through a portal into the Vortex. The Abomination was convinced that this was also a sign from God, that what he was doing was right. The Abomination's plan was to tell his wife that he had not died as she thought, but had been changed into the monster she saw before her. It was his hope that she would still love him. The Hulk returned from his trip to the Vortex-but i n a diminutive form. He managed to convince the Abomination that it was better for his wife to remember him as the brave, handsome husband she loved. The Abomi nation, in a rare moment of sanity, retu rned Nadia to her apartment unharmed. Banner's second Pantheon mission was to travel to Israel and bring both Achilles and the young boy Max Meers back to Pantheon headquarters. Banner was accompanied on this mission by his side-kick Rick Jones. They were told that Achilles's original mission had been a similar one: to convince the boy's parents that the best place for their son was with Pantheon. In attempting to kill the boy, Achilles had tu rned rogue. The reason for Pantheo n 's interest i n the thirteen-year old Meers was that Delphi, a member of Pantheon with precognitive abil ities, had seen a vision that in the fut u r e Max M eers would marshal his homeland of Draburg into one of the most devastating war machines Earth had ever known. Convincing the boy's parents that their son was destined to be the next H itler based on the future seen by a woman in a secret mountain base in t h e d esert southwest of the U n ited States would probably not be an easy task. This mission was further complicated by the fact that Meers was the son of the Draburg Ambassador to Israel. After Achilles's first attack on the Ambassador's family, the Israeli government assigned their top agent, Sabra, the job of protecti ng them. Sabra had battled the Hulk before and since his abduction by Pantheon, SHI ELD was circulating the word that the Hulk was more dangerous than ever. Banner caught up with Achilles in old Jerusalem. He was on foot in pursuit of the Meers boy and G retta Rabi n , the boy's friend. As Banner began to follow them, the fou r were spotted by Sabra who was flying overhead looking for Meers. She did not recognize the H u l k because he was wearing a long hooded robe, but engaged him in combat fi rst because he was the largest and closest to her. When she realized she was battling the H u lk, she fired her low-density, plasma energy q u ills at h i m , one of which e nte red h i s open mouth and struck his larynx. This paralyzed it, rendering him speechless. U nable to comm u n i c ate , B a n n e r engaged in a protracted battle with Sabra which took them through the streets and walls of old Jerusalem, and in and out the roof of the Israel museum , before culminating at the Wailing Wall. Stripped of her cape which enables her to fly, out of q u i l ls, and facing a physically superior foe, Sabra was prepared to make her final stand before the Wal l . As she waited for the H u l k's f i n al attack she del ivered a speech which affirmed her own, and her nation's, cou rage and determination . At this time, the effects of the quill that had paralyzed his larynx wore off. Banner, realizing fu rther violence would be pointless and wanting a chance to explain his actions, surrendered. Banner and Sabra reached an u nderstanding and joined forces to track down Achilles. Despite the possible ramifications on future events, Banner saved Max Meers from fall i ng to his death. He placed the boy on the ground and told him to stay put while he went back and dealt with Achi lles. Frightened and confused, Meers started running through the maze of streets which make u p old Jerusalem. From his high vantage point, Achilles could see that Meers was running toward Rick Jones, who was at that moment being pursued by a stampeding mob. While Achilles distracted the H u l k and Sabra with a n explanation o f w h y he tried to kill the boy (which included a recounting of his experience at the German concentration c a m p Dac h a u ) , Meers turned a corner a n d was trampled by the mi nd-controlled mob. After the accident, the boy was taken to Jerusalem Hospital, but the prognosis was that he would remain a vegetable for the rest of his l ife. Agamem non l ied to Ban ner about this, telling him the boy was fine. H e h ad also l i ed about A c h i l les's instructions-which had been to kill the boy from the start. No one yet realizes that M eers never actually had m indcontrol powers, but rather was being controlled himself. He was the vehicle through which G retta Rabin siphoned her mind control powers. It was, or will be, G retta working behind the scenes who caused Max Meers's rise to power which was foreseen by Delphi. Banner, along with the rest of Pantheon's fighting team, is now working on a plan to liberate the country of Transsabal. This action cou ld bring Pantheon into conflict with the new S H I ELD or even the United Nations' new peacekeeping force. How long Bruce Banner will serve with Pantheon, and exactly what his motives for serving with them are, remain to be seen.

Characters and Activity

Complete Team Roster

Image Codename Real Name
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