The Nefaria Protocols

This story continues from Thunderbolts #44…

Count Nefaria has constructed a ionic bomb that will irradiate the entire planet. Now the only thing standing in his way are the combined efforts of the Avengers — Iron Man, Captain America, Goliath, the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Black Widow, Warbird, She-Hulk, and Triathlon — and the Thunderbolts — Hawkeye, Songbird, Mach-2, Atlas, and Charcoal.[1] When Madame Masque’s ionic lock weapon fails to stop Nefaria, the two teams pile onto the madman all at once, but he easily swats them away.

Nefaria then gloats that his victory is fast at hand. In order to make the final adjustments to his ionic bomb, he cleaves the side of the cliffside. This sends the flying members of the Avengers and Thunderbolts scrambling to save those who cannot. Worse, the rockslide caused by the attack is sending rubble tumbling toward the town of Blaircrest, Alberta. The heroes then scramble to get people out of harm’s way. This is made more difficult when the Count heads into town and decides to cause chaos around the city.

Once all the civilians are brought to safety, the two teams return their attention to their foe. Charcoal charges into attack before the others are ready, only to be blasted into pieces by Nefaria. The villain continues to shrug off their attacks until the Scarlet Witch manages to strike him with a chaos magic infused hex blast in an effort to seize control of his powers and shut them down. Ultimately, ionic energy proves too alien for Wanda’s hex power control and the Count breaks free. That’s when Warbird and She-Hulk attack him at the same time in the hopes it will distract their opponent long enough for Triathlon to reach the bomb and shut it down. This plan also fails, prompting Iron Man to ask Goliath how long it will take for them to drain Nefaria’s powers. Hank calculates that at his current power level it could take about three weeks of non-stop fighting before Nefaria begins to drastically drain his power.

Elsewhere, Madame Masque, aka Whitney Frost, is fleeing the scene. Having become a paranoid recluse, she couldn’t bring herself to trust the Avengers enough to give them the complete plans to her Nefaria Protocols. As she expected, the weapon they created didn’t have the necessary power to stop her father. She is now waiting for him to kill the Avengers and Thunderbolts before she unleashes a full functional ionic lock device to defeat Nefaria. As she formulates her next plan, Whitney is unaware that someone is following her from behind.

By this time, the countdown on the ionic bomb reaches zero and its rockets kick in. This is just as Wonder Man and Atlas recover from the ionic lock weapon. Finally free from Nefaria’s control the two ionically charged heroes fly after the bomb in the hopes that their combined power can somehow stop it before it goes off an irradiates the entire planet.

Seeing the pair flying off to stop the rocket, Nefaria tries to get away but the Avengers and Thunderbolts will not relent in their attacks. When Songbird manages to capture him in a solid sound construct, the villain breaks free causing enough sonic feedback to knock out most of the heroes. The Vision then tries phasing into Nefaria’s body and solidifying, this is agony for both, but ultimately Nefaria is able to force the Vision out of his body. The androids attack gives the rest of the group time to recover and rejoin the fight.

As Madame Masque watches from the sidelines, she is ambushed by Masque — her last surviving bio-duplicate — who cannot sit idly by when the key to their victory is in her creator’s hands.[2] She takes the ionic lock weapon and rushes out and tells the Avengers that salvation is at hand. However, calling out to the heroes only tips of Count Nefaria, who then incinerates Masque on the spot. Seeing her bio-duplicate sacrifice her life, the real Madame Masque suddenly lets go of all of her fears. Leaping out of the bush, she recovers the ionic lock weapon and unleashes its power on her father. Unfortunately, the weapon doesn’t completely stop Nefaria, but his powers are greatly weakened. The Avengers and Thunderbolts refuse to stop fighting until they are dead, a wish that Nefaria is more than willing to grant.

Meanwhile, in Earth’s orbit, the bomb prepares to explode. Unfortunately, Wonder Man’s engineering skills are so out of date that he cannot fathom how to disarm the weapon.[3] With no other choice, Wonder Man and Atlas prepare to absorb the ionic energy that will be unleashed when the bomb explodes. Simon has a sense of deja vu because he was on a similar mission like this not so long ago. When Atlas asks what happened then, Wonder Man says he died.[4] Despite this risk, the two men brace themselve as the bomb explodes.

From the ground, the Avengers and Thunderbolts are horrified to see the bomb go off. However, hope begins to renew itself when the blast begins to contract as Wonder Man and Atlas absorb its energies. Seeing what’s happening, Count Nefaria refuses to allow this interference and rockets into the sky to try and stop them. However, the addition of Nefaria’s ionic form causes a chainreaction that causes an implosion, saving the Earth. The only apparent survivors are Wonder Man and Atlas who plumet to the ground, but are saved by Iron Man and Songbird.[5]

With the battle over, Madame Masque watches as the water from a shattered tower washes away the ashes of Masque. She decided that she is not going to hide behind bio-duplicates anymore and slips away to rebuild her criminal organization. She is stopped by Mach-2, who thinks she earned the right to go free, but not before he says his bit. He tells her how the Thunderbolts are all recovered super-villains. He then offers her a communicator that will put her in touch with the group if she chooses to go down this path as well.[6] She turns down the offer, but before she leaves she asks Mach-2 to tell the Avengers — especially Iron Man — that she says thanks for believing in her. As SHIELD medics are called in, Jasper Sitwell asks Iron Man if they encountered the real Whitney Frost. Iron Man confirms that it is and rather than say she got away, Iron Man says that she’s back.

Meanwhile, back in New York City, the news of the Avengers battle in Canada appears on the news at a bar near Columbia University. Seeing the Wasp answer questions from reporters, one of the patrons ask the other if that’s his wife. That’s when Hank Pym turns to look at the TV and confirms that she is indeed.[7]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Goliath, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Warbird, She-Hulk, Triathlon), Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Songbird, Mach-2, Atlas, Charcoal), Count Nefaria, Madame Masque, Masque, Black Widow, Jasper Sitwell, Yellowjacket

Continuity Notes

1. For all the dope on how we got to this point see Avengers (vol. 3) #31-33 and Thunderbolts #42-44.

2. As revealed in Avengers (vol. 3) #31, following the apparent demise of her father in Iron Man #116, Madame Masque feared for her own mortality. Becoming a complete recluse, she began employing bio-duplicates of herself to act as her proxies starting in Iron Man #138. Masque was the last such creation, first appearing in Iron Man #320.

3. Before becoming Wonder Man, Simon Williams was an inventor who ran the family business, Williams Electronics. See Avengers #9.

4. Wonder Man is referring to when he sacrificed his life to stop the Kree Starstealth’s ship from exploding in Earth’s atmosphere in Force Works #1. Although this killed him, his spirit lingered on the thresshold between life and death. This allowed the Scarlet Witch to begin summoning him back to the land of the living in Avengers (vol. 3) #2, until she was fully able to restore him to life in issues #10-11.

5. Nefaria will survive as well and will eventually be captured by SHIELD and imprisoned on the Raft, which is where we will see him next in New Avengers #2.

6. Most of the Thunderbolts — with the exception of Hawkeye — are all reformed criminals. The details:

   • Songbird, Mach-2, and Atlas were former members of the Masters of Evil who were convinced to pose as heroes by Baron Zemo in starting in Thunderbolts #1. They were exposed in issue #10, but by issue #13, the remaining members had decided to become heroes and reform.

   • Charcoal is a new addition to the team. When he first appeared in Thunderbolts #19, he was a member of the Loyalist Forces of America, an organization that sought to tear down America’s democratic institutions and install themselves as an autocratic regime. He later betrayed the Loyalists to join the Thunderbolts in issue #23 of their series.

   • Mach-2 mentions that they have a psychologist on the team who is currently missing. He is referring to Moonstone, who was one of the founding members of the Thunderbolts. She went MIA in Thunderbolts #41 after a series of strange dreams triggered by the alien gem that is the source of her power. She’ll be back again in Thunderbolts #45.

7. How there can be two Hank Pyms and the relationship status with the Wasp is complicated. Let’s break it down:

   • Hank and Janet were indeed married at one point, their wedding happened in Avengers #60. After years and a turbulent marriage, they were divorced after Hank struck her in Avengers #213. The two tried to give their romance a second change in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42, but decided to remain friends in Avengers West Coast #69. The pair admitted that they still loved one another in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1, and have been back together since Avengers (vol. 3) #1. The two will remain together until shortly after the dissolution of the Avengers in Avengers #503, as explained in Mighty Avengers #15.

   • Hank Pym has been split into two distinct individuals after being exposed to a magic spell in Avengers (vol. 3) #28. There is now the intellectually Goliath and the emotional Yellowjacket running around. The two will remain separate until their declining health forces them to merge back together in Avengers Annual 2001.

Topical References

• Gasoline prices in Blaircrest are listed as 67.9 ¢/l for regular unleaded gasoline, 72.9 ¢/l for “Silver Grade”, and 75.9 ¢/l for “super premium”. The gas prices should be considered topical as the cost of gasoline has risen and continues to creep higher all the time. If you want to have a real time look at how much gas is in Alberta as you read this, knock yourself out.

• The TVs in this story are depicted as CRT models. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology.