Triune Understanding

Triune Understanding is a fictitious religious cult created by Kurt Busiek for volume three of the Marvel Comics Avengers series, based on The Church of Scientology.

History

The Triune Understanding was depicted as a fast-growing movement claiming to maximize human potential, but gradually revealed to have connections with an invading alien race. Members included the Avengers' government liaison Duane Freeman and new member Triathlon (who owed his powers to the sect). After a battle between the Avengers and villains Lord Templar and Pagan, Jonathan Tremont (the leader of the Triune) publicly blamed the Avengers for the destruction, then covertly set up a smear campaign against the team to suggest they were religiously intolerant and racist (exploiting the general lack of African-American heroes in the team) and hinting that they supported the 'mutant conspiracy'.

Thanks to this manipulation of the team, Captain America and Thor both temporarily resigned, Thor resenting the media criticism and Captain America feeling unable to lead the team against "this" kind of attack. The situation was made even worse when the Triune Understanding hired the Taskmaster to pose as Captain America and trick Warbird, Ant-Man, Silverclaw and Captain Marvel into destroying a Triune building. Although they saw through his deception, the building was destroyed in the ensuing battle and the heroes lacked any evidence of their story. Justice and Firestar, then members of the Avengers, went undercover inside the organization. One of the many secrets they discovered was that the group could power a spacecraft with the sheer belief of the followers.

It was revealed over time that the Triune Understanding was trying to protect Earth from a mysterious threat named the Triple Evil. This being arrived on Earth during the "Kang Dynasty" storyline, when Earth was conquered by long-time Avengers foe Kang the Conqueror, prompting Tremont and a team of Avengers to power up their spaceship and face the being; an enormous floating black pyramid on the far side of the moon. They confronted it and eventually triumphed, with the ancient power of the billions the Triple Evil had destroyed passing to Triathlon, who also became the re-embodiment of 3D-Man. Jonathan Tremont, who had wanted the power for himself, was captured and later died battling Kang. The fate of the Triune Understanding after these events is unclear.