Timeless #1 (2021)

In a far-off time, Dr. Anatoly Petrov watches as Kang the Conqueror does battle with a mammoth. As he does, he remembers how he met Kang a week prior, arriving with a challenge for the scholar: to prove that Kang, not Victor Von Doom, is the true greatest villain. Returning to the present, Petrov watches as the mammoth tosses Kang aside, the scholar worried for his safety. The tribe they joined tell him to not interfere with their God's battle and Petrov watches as Kang finally subdues the mammoth. Later, the tribe celebrates as the two men eat the kill, Kang noting that primitive cooking is probably the best. Suddenly, the tribe disappears as warning klaxons go off - a timequake has struck. Quickly, Kang whisks Petrov to Oracle Base and calls for his Pythians to his side. Petrov believes that it might be the Reckoning War, though Kang muses about Judgement Day, claiming the Eternals were powerful. As Pythian One joins him, Kang sees the changes in the future - Doyle Dormammu slaying his father with the Twilight Sword, Ben Reilly swinging by the Hollywood sign, the hand of a brand new Iron Fist, the Punisher leading a group of Hand ninjas, the Moon exploding, the flag of the anti-mutant organization ORCHIS, a new team of Young Avengers gathered together with Taskmaster wearing Captain America's gear flanked by other villains, Tony Stark as the Iron God, Winter Soldier looming over a wounded Captain America, a mysterious red-headed woman donning Spider-Man's costume joined by a white-haired woman wearing the Black Panther's Panther Habit and the glowing eye of the Jack of Hearts. Petrov asks if these are events that could happen. Flanked by images of New York covered in a black web, an ominous cloud over Ravencroft Asylum and Thanos welding the "Infinity Mjolnir" Kang reveals that they are outside of time and that these events will happen, but something is causing other events to be drawn off-course, pulled into directions he didn't intend to. Demanding answers, Pythian 32 reveals the cause is a rogue timeline, designated 20208-Manticore-Green, that was cast away by Immortus long ago. During this time, Petrov spots someone who doesn't seem to be recognizable. Kang instead talks about how when Immortus casts away a timeline, null-time tends to eat at it until it's destroyed. However, something is keeping the timeline afloat through amazing power and sheer will. He realizes that he's trying to reattach the timeline back into the main one. Petrov asks if they could just let it happen, but Kang refuses as the effects would rattle all of time-space. He reveals that he'll kill the person who would be behind this and cast the timeline back into nothingness and he's sure he knows who's behind it - Doom. However, before they could, Oracle Base is breached by an army of Deathloks. Kang easily dispatches them, but more are coming. He muses about dealing with "Avenger Prime" later before spiriting Petrov away, leaving Oracle Base and the Pythians to die. Arriving at the "pirate timeline", Petrov yells at Kang for how heartless he was for leaving the Pythians to die. However, Kang snaps at the scholar over this, letting him know that he's no hero, that he's beyond such capacities and sees himself as the kind of "hero" the Greeks reveled in. Petrov tells Kang that he understands how he works now before asking where they were now. Kang reveals they were in the "pirate timeline", both men noting the fallen ruins of Damocles Base. Petrov muses if he was the one who brought this timeline back, but Kang tells him that he would have left this timestream long ago, that this was obviously the work of Victor Von Doom. Reaching the bridge, Kang boasts that he's here to kill Victor. The main on the throne inside, wearing the armor of Doom looks up, showing a green and red gems in his eyes. Realizing that he's here to stop him from attaching the timeline back, he removes the mask, revealing himself to be Reed Richards instead, the gems inside his eyes. To the men's horror, Reed reveals that when null-time started to destroy their timeline, the heroes rallied to save their world. Instead, it caused it to die a slow death. However, Reed refused to bow to this fate - he implanted the Time and Reality Stones in his eyes to control the timeline, killed Celestials to drink their blood and gain their power and killed anyone who dared go against him. Aghast at this, Kang attacks Doom, telling him that he would have sent his legions to destroy this timeline, but not bothering as he was the only one alive, only for Doom to easily block it, vowing to crash the timeline into the main one as a monument to the fallen. Kang summons other Kangs to aid him, but even they are too much for Doom. Doom reveals Kang's hidden arsenal, then grabs him by the neck, intending to just strangle him to prove he is superior. However, Petrov stops Doom, running him through with the spear Kang used to kill the mammoth. Kang is confused, telling him if he knows what would happened now that he did that. Petrov knows he would die, but he was going to die anyway if Doom killed Kang. While Kang believes himself to be better than everyone else, Petrov believes true human greatness is putting others before themselves. Kang is confused by this, then laughs it off, telling him he's returning him to his time. Kang explains that he always takes travelling companions along because he likes the idea of being challenged and that his unknown variable allowed him to beat Kang. He also admires his courage to standing up to him and he believes that is what makes humanity worthy of creating someone like Kang, though he tells Petrov that if he keeps his memoir of Doom, he'll come back to kill him. In the present day, Petrov finishes his memoir of his time with Kang and he wonders as to what really happened in the room with him and Kang: had Kang intended on using him as a pawn against Doom or had Kang become friends with him and couldn't bear killing him? However, Petrov is uncertain of what the future may hold with the timeline stable again, but he opens a book, haunted by an image that stayed with him since he saw it on Oracle Base: the insignia of Miracleman.