Shooting Stars is an episode about threats too vast to see clearly and ambitions too distant to grasp until they fall upon you. When satellites begin dropping from the sky, the Avengers are forced to confront a danger that feels almost cosmic in scale — a reminder that not all battles are fought on the ground, and not all enemies announce themselves with armies. The episode explores the fragility of the modern world, where a single disruption in orbit can send nations spiralling into panic.

At its heart lies the theme of convergence — technological, celestial, and ideological. The Zodiac operate according to a logic the Avengers struggle to understand, guided by symbols and patterns that seem irrational yet carry terrifying precision. Their plan to awaken the Zodiac Key turns the heavens into a battlefield, forcing the team to adapt to an enemy who fights according to the stars rather than strategy.

Iron Man’s arrival sharpens the episode’s focus on collaboration. His presence underscores how even the Avengers must sometimes reach beyond their own ranks, acknowledging that expertise is not a weakness but a strength. The episode becomes a meditation on how heroes respond when the world grows larger than their grasp — by expanding their circle, trusting new allies, and facing the unknown with unity rather than fear.

By the end, Shooting Stars leaves the team with a lingering truth: some threats are not defeated, only delayed. The Zodiac’s plan is interrupted, not ended, and the Avengers are left staring upward, aware that the next convergence may already be written in the sky.

A series of mysterious attacks knocks multiple satellites out of orbit, placing the entire world at risk as debris threatens to rain down across the globe. With the crisis escalating beyond anything the team has faced, the Avengers realise they need specialised technological expertise. They recruit Tony Stark to assist them, bringing Iron Man into the fold as they begin investigating the source of the orbital strikes.

Their search leads them to a far more calculated threat than random malfunction. The Zodiac — a criminal organisation themed around the twelve astrological signs — has begun the first of a series of energy convergences designed to activate the legendary Zodiac Key. Taurus, Scorpio, and other members of the group orchestrate the satellite attacks as part of a larger plan to clear the skies, to harness cosmic power and force humanity to kneel before them.

As the Avengers race to stop the next convergence, they find themselves outmatched by the Zodiac’s coordination and the sheer scale of their celestial ambitions. Iron Man’s presence aboard a Stark Satellite proves vital, giving the team the technological edge needed to counter the Zodiac’s energy manipulation and track their movements across the globe.

The confrontation tests both the Avengers’ unity and their ability to adapt to a threat operating on a planetary scale. Though the Zodiac’s plan is only partially thwarted, the team prevents the immediate catastrophe and buys time to unravel the larger mystery of the Zodiac Key — unaware that the group simply wanted to clear the skies and are now one step closer to unlocking the Key…

As with Captain America in Command Decision, Iron Man only appears in this episode. It’s also his only appearance in this Marvel Animated Universe not voiced by Robert Hays. He doesn’t even remove the armour in the episode! This is due to the movie rights of the characters – Thor doesn’t even get past the opening titles!

Ron Rubin, the voice of the Vision, also voiced Morph in X-Men: The Animated Series.

THE ZODIAC

The Zodiac are one of Marvel’s most enigmatic criminal syndicates — a constellation of villains bound not by loyalty, but by ambition, symbolism, and the promise of power. Debuting in The Avengers #72 in 1970, they emerged as a twelve‑member cartel, each adopting the identity of a zodiac sign and wielding technology or abilities themed to their celestial role. From the beginning, they were less a team and more a criminal horoscope made flesh: unpredictable, shifting, and dangerous in ways the Avengers could never fully anticipate.

Across the years, the Zodiac have appeared in multiple incarnations, each more chaotic than the last. Sometimes they are a band of costumed mercenaries; sometimes they are a cult‑like organisation with grand astrological designs; sometimes they are androids built to embody the signs with terrifying precision. Their motives range from organised crime to world domination, but their strength lies in their structure — twelve operatives, each with a distinct speciality, able to strike in coordinated patterns that mirror the stars they emulate.

Their presence in animation and wider media has kept them alive in the public imagination, often reimagined as a shadowy cabal pulling strings behind global events. Whether portrayed as human masterminds or artificial constructs, the Zodiac retain their signature blend of theatricality and menace.

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