Avengers: The Initiative #1

Jul 13

Jul 13 Avengers: The Initiative #1

Happy Accidents

Bagdhad, Iraq

A military convoy is passing through the city when they are observe a truck carrying explosives speeding toward them from the other way. Luckily, the soldier known as Gauntlet is there and uses his massive high tech arm to grasp the truck in a massive hand made of energy, causing it to harmlessly explode. With the immediate threat out of the way, Gauntlet checks on their VIP, Secretary Henry Gyrich. Gyrich is impressed by Green’s performance and appreciates that a superhuman is serving in the military instead of galivanting state side. He tells Joe that after M-Day — when the majority of Earth’s mutants lost their powers[1] — the United States has won the superhuman cold war by default. Without new mutants being born, the only means of creating superhumans now is by “happy accidents” like cosmic rays, lab accidents, and magic.[2] He then makes Gauntlet an offer to train more superpowered soldiers to fight for the United States.

America

In Evanston, Illinois, an unregistered superhuman named Cloud 9 is out flying in the air, attracting the attention of authorities.[3] Two Air Force fighter jets are deployed to follow after her, but their commander tells them to not engage so he may confront the young girl. Their leader is none other than War Machine (Jim Rhodes) Jim warns her that he has a low level repulsor ray ready to fire and orders her to stand down. After getting her code name, Jim tells her that she needs to register with the government and to come with him.[4]

Meanwhile, in Liberty, Kentucky, Justice (Vance Astrovik) visits the home of Brian Van Patrick. His son, Michael (MVP for short), was a star athlete until it was uncovered that the Van Patricks are the descendants of Abraham Erskine, the inventor of the Super Soldier Serum that created Captain America.[5] Although they could find no trace of drug enhancements in Michael’s blood he was still pushed out of sports out of concerns that he had an unfair advantage. Vance has come to offer the teenager a chance to become a superhero. Michael points out that the world has soured on superheroes ever since the New Warriors caused the Stamford Disaster.[6] Vance explains that by joining the Initiative, Michael will be trained in the proper use of his abilities along with other young heroes in order to prevent a tragedy like that from repeating itself again.

In San Francisco, California, the Mighty Avengers — Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Wonder Man (Simon Williams), and Ares — are trying to contain the massive alien robot known as Ultimo. That’s when a beam of energy blasts through the monster’s torso, taking it down with a single shot. The team is then approached by the person responsible, a teenaged girl with a high tech gauntlet who calls herself Armory.

Later, a bus rolls into Camp Hammond, a military training facility constructed in Stamford, Connecticut, meant to train the next generation of heroes. Outside locals protests the base due to the recent tensions about superheroes. On board the bus are a number of heroes who were forced or enlisted into the Initiative. They include former New Warriors Rage (Elvin Haliday) and Slapstick (Steve Harmon), Cloud 9, MVP, Bengal (Duc Noh Tranh), Thor Girl (Tarene),[7] and others. When the bus arrives on site, they are greeted by Yellowjacket (Hank Pym) of the Avengers.[8] He gives them a speech about what happened in Stamford and how their training is supposed to prevent such a disaster from happening again. When Cloud 9 asks what will happen if they fail training, Pym grimly says nothing and walks off the bus. Once everyone gets off the bus, they are greeted by Gauntlet who goes full drill sergeant on them, and specifically makes a point to disparage the New Warriors while telling them to follow his orders without question.[9]

This is observed by War Machine and Justice, Vance in particular doesn’t like how Gauntlet continues to dump on his old team. They are joined by Yellowjacket who agrees with Jim that Joe gets his job done right, despite his terse way of doing it. They then discuss who they have concerns over. Rhodes is worried that Cloud 9 is too frail to make the cut, while Pym is concerned about Komodo a young woman who was exposed to Curt Connor’s Lizard formula.[9] When asked how Justice feels about MVP, he tells them to look out on the field and listen to the sound of applause. Outside, Michael breezes his way through a training course, breaking the record for non-speedsters in the process.

Meanwhile, the new recruits are brought to their barracks where they are introduced to one another. Among the fresh faces are Hardball, Komodo, and Trauma.[11] Gauntlet tells the recruits that while they are on camp they are only to use their code names and never be out of costume — including masks — and tells them to get ready. When Cloud 9 goes to the changing room, she is immediately intimidated by the other women who, to her, looks like they walked out of fashion magazines. Trying to find a private place to change, Cloud 9 accidentally goes through a service entrance into the men’s shower room. There she is found by MVP who is just stepping out of the shower. Deeply embarrassed by her mistake, she rushes back into the change room after having MVP swear to keep this a secret. He agrees, and is amused by the encounter. Once out of the showers, MVP learns from Triathlon (Delroy Garrett, Jr.) that the new recruits are being taken to the combat training room for their first drill.

While Michael formally introduces himself to Cloud 9, Armory is tested first. The simulation is observed by Gauntlet, Henry Gyrich, and their resident scientist Baron Von Blitzschlag. With her Tactagon weapon she easily takes down a group of mechs with ease. Next up is Trauma, who is unsure how his powers will work against robots. Using his ability to transform into the fears of others, Trauma picks up on Armory’s fear of spiders and transforms into a massive arachnid. Seeing this, Armory panics and begins wildly firing at the massive creature. One shot severs one of Komodo’s arm, which thankfully grows back moments later thanks to her reptilian regeneration ability. While everyone gets out of harms way, Cloud 9 is frozen with panic, prompting MVP to rush to her aid. He safely pushes to her ground, but as he is checking to see if she is ok, a blast from the Tactagon goes blows his head off. As Gauntlet leaps in to restrain Armory, Gyrich tells all the new recruits that they are under orders to never speak about what happened today.

Armory is quickly escorted to a lab where, under the supervision of Yellowjacket and Blitzschlag, her Tactagon is removed. She is informed that she has washed out and is sent home without her weapon.[12] Later, Blitzschlag performs an autopsy on MVP’s body and makes an incredible discovery that will be useful to the Initiative.[13]

Recurring Characters

The Initiative:

Staff: Baron Von Blitzschlag, Gauntlet, Henry Gyrich, Justice, She-Hulk, War Machine, “Yellowjacket”

Trainees: Armory, Bengal, Cloud Nine, Constrictor, Debrii, Hardball, Hellcat, “Hulkling”, Komodo, MVP, Network, Nighthawk, Prodigy, Rage, Red Wolf, Scorpion, Slapstick, Stature, Stingray, “Thor Girl”, Texas Twister, Triathlon, Ultragirl, “Wiccan”

Mighty Avengers (Ms. Marvel, Wasp, Wonder Man, Ares), SHIELD, Hydra, Ultimo

Continuity Notes

Following the events of House of M #1-8, the majority of the mutant population lost their powers, as seen in Decimation: House of M - The Day After #1. This will remain the status quo until Avengers vs. X-Men #12.
Gyrich mentions a number of methods that have created superhumans in the past: Cosmic Rays which created the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #1, magic canes referring to how Thor was revived in the Modern Age in Journey into Mystery #83, and radioactive spider bites which created Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15.
This story takes place after the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) which requires all humans to register with the government. It was passed into law in Civil War #3 and will remain in effect until Siege #4.
Here, Cloud Nine is about to tell Jim her real name but he stops her short of her first. Might as well get all of the character names out of the way since their real names are kept secret for a bit. It goes like this:
- Gauntlet’s full name (Joe Green) is revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #6.
- Cloud 9: This issue reveals her first name is Abby, but her full name Abby Boylen won’t be revealed until Avengers: The Initiative #9.
- Komodo’s first name will be revealed to be Melati in Avengers: The Initiative #3. He last name (Kusama) will be revealed in issue #9 as well.
- Hardball’s real name is Roger Brockridge, which will be revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #4.
- Trauma’s real name (Terrance Ward) is revealed next issue.
- Armory’s real name (Violet Lightner) isn’t revealed until Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1.
Erskine created this revolutionary formula back in Captain America Comics #1, of course. MVP gained his enhanced abilities by strictly adhering to an Erskine invented dietary and exercise regime that could create the same results, as we’ll learn in Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1.
The New Warriors — while chasing ratings on a reality TV show — attacked a group of villains in Stamford, causing a massive explosion that killed hundreds of people including children. This was the catalyst that saw the passage of the SHRA as seen in Civil War #1. MVP refers to the New Warriors as Vance’s team. Astrovik was a founding member of the New Warriors, as seen in New Warriors #1, but was not an active member at the time of Stamford.
At some point, Thor Girl was replaced by a Skrull impostor as revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #18. The profile for Thor Girl in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12 states that this happened just before she was sent to Camp Hammond.
This is another Skrull infiltrator who took Hank’s place circa House of M #1, as revealed in Mighty Avengers #15.
Connor’s infamously created a formula that used lizard DNA to try and restore lost limbs. It had the unfortunate side effect of turning him in to the Lizard. See Amazing Spider-Man #6.
Among the other recruits seen in the crowd shots are what appears to be Hulkling and Wiccan of the Young Avengers. However, the pair were staunchly against registration. It’s later revealed in She-Hulk (vol. 2) #21 that these are their Variants from Earth-A (aka Reality-721 per Marvel Encyclopedia: Fantastic Four). They are unpowered tourists from that reality who come to Prime Marvel Universe to experience being superheroes.
Trauma states that his mother is in a mental hospital. Trauma’s mother was driven insane after being impregnated by the entity known as Nightmare. See Avengers: The Initiative #30.
To find out what happened to Armory after this, see Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1.
Namely, he comes up with a means of cloning Michael, as we’ll see in Avengers: The Initiative #3.

Topical References

The opening scene in Iraq is framed in the context that it is taking place during the US led war of that country that occurred between 2003 to 2011. Any reference to this specific conflict should be considered topical. Modern readers should instead interpret this as a more general military action in the region, or perhaps a fictional conflict unique to the fiction.
MVP is referred to as the great-grandson of Abraham Erskine. His specific relation to the famed scientist should be considered topical due to the Sliding Timescale which pushes the Modern Age forward in time. While it was possible for MVP to be the great-grandson of Erskine when this comic was published in 2007, it has now become increasingly impossible for a teenager with an ordinary lifespan to have that relation with someone who was alive during World War II. As such, modern readers should interpret him as being descended from Erskine as opposed to being of a specific generation of his family.
When comparing herself to the other female heroes, Cloud Nine says thinks they all stepped out of an issue of Teen Vogue, a fashion magazine that was geared toward a teenaged demographic. It was published between 2003 and 2017. As this magazine is now out of print, its reference here should be considered topical.