The Crossing Line Part 1: The Waterwind Interdiction

Deep below the Atlantic, off the coast of Iceland, the nuclear submarine known as the Waterwind is on a routine mission when suddenly the controls short out. The British crew has been betrayed by one of their own, a naval officer by the name of Allison, who has joined up with a Russian terrorist group that calls themselves the Peace Corps. After the ship is secured the Peace Corp’s leader, Illyich Protvich, kills the captain and takes control of the sub, but not before he is able to send out a distress call to the Royal Navy.

Within a few hours, an emergency meeting is called with the British Prime Minister to discuss the situation. Given the nuclear payload aboard the Waterwind the situation is grim and it is recommended that superhuman response is the best way of dealing with the matter. Unfortunately, both the Weird Happenings Organization and Excalibur are unavailable, prompting the Prime Minister to order a call the President of the United States in Washington.

Meanwhile, in New York, Captain America has called a meeting of the Avengers to go over recent developments. Cap reports that the construction of their new headquarters is now underway,[1] while Starfox is still recuperating following their recent battle with Nebula.[2] Quasar also reports that he has erected an energy barrier around the planet that will alert him of any alien presence that tries to come to the planet.[3] That’s when Peggy Carter calls in to tell the team that they have an incoming call from the President. The Commander-in-Chief tells them about the situation involving the Waterwind and Cap promises that the Avenges will do whatever they can to avert a nuclear disaster. Captain America, Quasar, Sersi, and the Vision then hop into a Quinjet and set a course for the Atlantic to intercept the Waterwind.

By this time, the Peace Corps has secured the Waterwind and its nuclear arsenal. As Protvitch oversees the operation he is informed by his crew that a ship is approaching. Returning to he helm, Illyich goes to see who is trying to contact them. It turns out to be the People’s Protectorate, Russia’s government sanction superhero team. Their leader, the Red Guardian, orders the Peace Corps to surrender or his team will blow them out of the water.

Not far away, the Avengers are reaching their destination after making a quick pitstop to pick-up Stingray, whose aquatic armor will be an asset in dealing with this underwater mission. As the Quinjet submerges the American team witnesses as the Waterwind is attacked by the Protectorate members Vostok, Crimson Dynamo, and Perun. Fearing that this will escalate things further, Captain America sends Sersi, Stingray, Quasar, and the Vision out to stop the Russians from damaging the sub-mariner.[4]

Aboard the People’s Protectorate’s vessel, Red Guardian is advised of the emotional situation aboard the Waterwind by his teammate Fantasma. She warns the Red Guardian that they need to pull back as the Peace Corps is being agitated too much from the battle going on outside between their group and the Avengers.

While the battle rages, Stingray tries to sneak aboard the Waterwind when he the vessel is suddenly blasted with an energy beam that also knocks out the aquatic Avenger. This new attack has come from a group of Atlantean warriors — Tyrak, U-Man, and Orka — who have come to defend their kingdom of Atlantis, as the battle has strayed close to their borders.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Sersi, Stingray. Vision, Quasar), People’s Protectorate (Red Guardian, Vostok, Fantasma, Crimson Dynamo, Perun), Peace Corps (Illyich Protvitch, Mendev, Voroshilov, Kuryestan), Tyrak, U-Man, Orka, Peggy Carter

Continuity Notes

1. The Avengers previous headquarters on Hydrobase was sunk into the Atlantic after it was attacked by Doctor Doom’s robots in Avengers #311. The construction of their brand new headquarters will be completed in issue #329.

2. The Avengers battled Nebula in Avengers #314-318. Starfox was one of the Avengers injured on this mission. He’ll be back on his feet again in Avengers Annual #19.

3. Since Quasar #3, Quasar has been charged with protecting the cosmic entity known as Eon from an unknown cosmic threat. This prompted the hero to put an early warning system around the planet in Quasar #12 to make his job easier. This threat is ultimately revealed to be Maelstrom, as we’ll see in Quasar #19-25.

4. Captain America identifies the Russian super team as the Supreme Soviets and later Vision identifies Vostok as Sputnik. These were previous names that the team and their android member went by when they first appeared in Captain America #352-353.

Topical References

• The Waterwind is described as a Resolution class submarine armed with Polaris SLBM Chevaline warheads. These specifications should be considered topical. Resolution class submarines fell out of use in 1996. The Polaris missile was also retired from service on the same year. Chevalines were upgrades to Polaris missiles that were implemented by the British military, these upgrades stopped being used the same time the Polaris missiles were retired.

• This story featured two real life politicians and their appearances should be considered topical. They are:

  • Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Thatch was Prime Minister from 1979 until 1990. She died in 2013.

  • President George H.W. Bush. He was POTUS from 1989 to 1993. He later died in 2018. Good riddance to both.

• Russia is referred to as the USSR in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

Rats in the Kitchen

At Avengers Headquarters, the Avengers Support Crew — Peggy Carter, John Jameson, Michael O’Brien, and Fabian Stankowicz — have been hard at work getting the facilities ready for the construction of the Avengers brand new headquarters. Taking a break, they are served food by the Avengers ever dutiful butler, Edwin Jarvis.[1] After a satisfying meal, the group heads back to work, leaving Jarvis to clean up the kitchen.

As Jarvis works on the dishes he is suddenly confronted by the Crimson Cowl, something that should be impossible since he was the Crimson Cowl. The Cowl taunts Jarvis for once betraying the Avengers for money for a much needed surgery for his mother.[2] Traumatized by his attacker, Jarvis fights back with the sidearm he now carries, but the bullets do nothing to stop the Cowl, who beckons Jarvis to remove his mask. When Edwin does just that he is shocked to see his own face looking back at him. Taunted over and over, Jarvis eventually works up the courage to shoot this phantom in the face and it instantly vanishes.[3]

Hearing gunshots, Michael O’Brien comes back to see what’s going on. Questioning if what he saw was real or not, Jarvis tells O’Brien that he saw a rat and started shooting at it in a panic.

Recurring Characters

Edwin Jarvis, Peggy Carter, John Jameson, Michael O’Brien, Fabian Stankowicz, Mother Night

Continuity Notes

1. Here, Jarvis is depicted wearing an eye patch again after not wearing one in issues #317-318. Jarv suffered a serious eye injury after receiving a severe beating from Mister Hyde during the Masters of Evil’s siege on Avengers Mansion back in Avengers #273-277. He had worn an eye-patch almost consistently afterwards. This discrepancy is probably due to different creative teams not being on the same page about Jarv’s injury. However, it’s later explained away in Avengers #326 where Jarvis mentions how his doctor had advised him to stop wearing the eye patch for a few hours a day so he can build up the strength of that eye.

2. Jarvis became the Crimson Cowl in Avengers #54-55. He took on the role to get money for his mother’s much needed surgery. This was all part of a plot by Ultron to destroy the Avengers. It’s later revealed in Avengers #280 that Jarvis was actually brainwashed into thinking the Avengers wouldn’t give him the money he needed to save his mother’s life and thus why he betrayed them over something so trivial as money.

3. It’s later revealed that the Crimson Cowl illusion was created by Mother Night who is secretly brainwashing the Avengers Crew to betray the heroes, part of a birthday gift for the Red Skull. This will occur over the course of Avengers #319-324, with Mother Night’s master scheme being attempted in issue #325.