Red Zone, Part 2

A mysterious bio-weapon has been unleashed in South Dakota. Moving across the area in a big red cloud, this flesh eating pathogen is spreading forcing many towns to evacuate. The Avengers have since been called in and, suited up in biohazard suits, a team led by Captain America consisting of the Scarlet Witch, Vision, She-Hulk, Jack of Hearts, and Ant-Man have entered the cloud to find its source.

Iron Man has taken a sample to a scientist with the Center for Disease Control in order to determine how it works so quickly and find a potential treatment for those exposed to it. In charge of the investigation is longtime Avengers ally Bill Foster.[1] However, despite all the money and resources that are being provided by Stark Enterprises, the government is incredibly slow at fulfilling requests. That’s when the Black Panther arrives and tells them that scientists back in Wakanda have developed an enzyme that can counteract certain forms of flesh eating viruses. This comes as a shock to both Stark and Foster, who demand to know why Wakanda hasn’t shared this with the rest of the world. T’Challa explains that he always looks out for the best interest of his people, pointing out that both Stark and the United States do the same when it suits them.

That’s when the Avengers liaison Henry Gyrich enters the room with the Secretary of Defense, Dell Rusk. Rusk tells the two Avengers that this is none of their business and tells them to leave. When Iron Man and the Panther try to reason with him, Rusk then says they are trespassing and he’ll have them removed. Stark can’t understand why Rusk is doing this, but all Dell will say is that America will look after its own. When Rusk’s bodyguards try to remove them, they are quickly knocked out by the Black Panther. T’Challa then tells Foster that he’ll have his people send the files on the enzymes right away. With that, the two Avengers leave. Once they are gone, Dell Rusk tells Gyrich that they need to speak in private.[2]

Iron Man and the Black Panther have since gone up to the roof of the building. There, T’Challa explains that he could get away with antagonizing Rusk and his men because he has diplomatic immunity. Still, the scene was an intentional distraction to hide the fact that T’Challa stole a blood sample taken to one of the victims. While he wants his scientists back in Wakanda to examine it, Iron Man snatches it away saying that he will provide the second opinion so the sample doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.[3] As Iron Man takes off, Black Panther pulls out a second vial that he stole. Stark, he says to himself, is so very predictable.

Meanwhile, in Custer State Park, a camp has been set up to treat victims of what is now being called the Red Zone. However, the cloud will be coming their way forcing military officials to scramble in order to evacuate the area. The situation is tense as nobody knows if the illness is contagious or not. Although they are wearing hazmat suits, General Fester freaks out when one of the patients touches him. Warbird, who had been assigned to oversee things here, calms him down by using her energy powers to sterilize his suit again and assures him that he’s fine. With them is a Park Ranger named Hawkins and he asks if they can be really sure if he wasn’t infected. Carol responds by saying that if Fester is infected then they all are and it won’t matter anyway.

Six miles away, Captain America and his team are pushing their way to Mount Rushmore the apparent site of the bio-weapon attack. The only ones not having to wear hazmat suits are the Vision and Jack of Hearts. As they make their way, they witness the death toll caused by the bioweapon. The dead bodies really hit the Vision hard as he realizes that if a worldwide epidemic were to wipe out the human race, androids like himself would be left all alone on a dead planet. Using spy satellites in orbit above them, Captain America leads them to where the cloud of red fog is the thickest.

Before they can search, She-Hulk suddenly collapses to the ground. When the others check to see if she is ok, Jennifer panics when she sees Jack of Hearts and tells him to stay away from her.[4] That’s when Wanda notices a group of trees that are too close together, like they are being used to hide something. She then uses her hex powers to knock the trees aside, revealing a secret underground bunker. The Avengers head down to see who is responsible for it being there. Captain America is disappointed to discover that its not the work of a terrorist organization, but the United States government itself.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Vision, Warbird, She-Hulk, Jack of Hearts), Red Skull, Bill Foster

Continuity Notes

1. Even though he is depicted vastly differently here, according to Avengers, Thor & Captain America: Official Index to the Marvel Universe #15, this is actually the Bill Foster, aka Goliath.

2. Dell Rusk has been strong-arming Gyrich into leaking Avengers data to Rusk since Avengers (vol. 3) #61. Since issue #64, he and the Falcon have made arrangements to play along with Rusk’s requests in order to find out who he is and what his agenda is. Rusk will be exposed as the Red Skull in issue #68.

3. Iron Man doesn’t trust the Black Panther here because it was recently revealed that when T’Challa first joined the Avengers, circa Avengers #52, he did so in order to spy on the team. See Black Panther (vol. 3) #8 for the details.

4. We’ll discover next issue that Jack has been unknowingly absorbing She-Hulk’s gamma radiation. This has also been the cause of his powers becoming unstable since Avengers (vol. 3) #58.

Topical References

• When asked who was responsible for the biological weapon, Iron Man names off bunch of possible terrorist organizations. One of the groups identified is named as al-Queda. This group has had a history of attacks against the United States and its interests. This story was written in the years after the 9/11 terror attacks and shortly after the invasion of Iraq. Tensions between the Middle East and the West were very high. While al-Queda still exist and are considered terrorist organizations by the United States, their reference here is topical given the period and the context of their reference here.