Avengers: The Initiative #11
Killed in Action, Part 4: Worst Case Scenario
One Hour Ago
KIA, an insane clone of Michael Van Patrick, is laying waste to Camp Hammond and the Initiative staff. Given a device that can cure this insane lunatic, Cloud 9 (Abby Boylen), Hardball (Roger Brockeridge), and Komodo (Melati Kusama) use the Negative Zone portal to get to the location of another clone to wipe his mind.[1] Once through the portal they are greeted by War Machine (Jim Rhodes) at Prison 42. They quickly explain the situation back at camp and he tells the recruits to keep going while he tries to contain KIA.
When KIA comes through the portal moments later, War Machine has activated all the weapons built into his armor to fend him off. However, the deranged clone doesn’t consider him a threat and unleashes a powerful blast from his Tactigon.
Now
The three recruits ambushed the clone of Michael Van Patrick at the Van Patrick home in Bulls Gape, Tennessee. However, before they can use the device to wipe the clones mind they are stopped by former members of the New Warriors — Justice (Vance Astrovik), Rage (Elvin Halliday), Ultragirl (Suzy Sherman), Slapstick (Steve Harmond), and Debrii (Deborah Fields) — forcing them to explain themselves again. They confirm that the device they need to use will wipe Michael’s mind allowing them to use the copy to reset KIA’s personality. However, neither the New Warriors, nor the father of Michael Van Patrick want them to go through with this. Suddenly, the Van Patrick home is blasted to smitherines by KIA, who has arrived to eliminate the last of his targets!
Back at Camp Hammond, Henry Gyrich surveys the damage with disgust before sending Mutant Zero back to her Zero Room to rest. He also finds the two Scarlet Spiders looking after their “father”, Baron Von Blitzschlag. Gyrich orders them to go after KIA right away, and after some reluctance, the Baron convinces them to go. The two clones cross through the Negative Zone portal to find War Machine undergoing repairs after his encounter with KIA. They are shocked to discover that Jim Rhodes is actually a cyborg.[2] Seeing how things have gotten out of control, Jim decides that he has no other choice but get Tony Stark involved in all of this.
When the Scarlet Spiders cross through the portal to Tennessee the arrive in the middle of the battle with KIA. The first to go down is Justice, whose telekinetic powers cannot withstand the feedback from the Tactigon. Slapstick manages to hold his own for a while, until his electroplasm form is disrupted, turning him into a puddle. That’s when Hardball and Komodo attack, but they are forced to retreat when Melati’s legs are injected with a deadly Rigellian snake venom. Rage and Debrii then step in, while the others tend to the wounded, but they don’t fare much better either.
That’s when the Mighty Avengers — Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), and Wonder Man (Simon Williams) — arrive on the scene. Iron Man tries to get Rage to stand down and let them handle it, but Elvin refuses to stop fighting.
As the battle rages on, Cloud 9 tries to convince Michael to put on the mind wiping helmet. His father, on the other hand doesn’t want the boy he views as his son to be turned into a vegetable. On the sidelines, Hardball convinces Komodo to let him amputate her legs with his powers in order to stop the venom from reaching her heart and killing her. This is deeply traumatic for Melati since, in her human forms, she is a double amputee. Roger then comforts her and reminds her that her lizard form will regenerate her legs soon enough.[3] Hardball then puts up a force field around them to protect Komodo from the battle and promises he will never let anything hurt her ever again.
By this time, Cloud 9 has gotten fed up with arguing with Michael and races into battle. Her gambit pays off as it reminds KIA of how the real Michael Van Patton had feelings for her and how he sacrificed his life when Abby froze in training. This causes KIA enough pause for her to get close and kiss him. However, this isn’t a romantic gesture is all a cover for her sending the cloud that she controls into his lungs, choking him. While KIA is disorientated, the two remaining Scarlet Spiders restrain KIA. It’s then that Michael realizes that if the device can wipe his own mind, it will also probably do the same to KIA and slaps it on the rogue clone. This wipes KIA’s mind, ending his threat instantly.
In the aftermath of the battle, while everyone is recovering, Iron Man is able to restore Slapstick to normal (or whatever passes for normal for him). Meanwhile, Michael introduces the Spiders to their father. Soon he and Abby talk in private and he they come to terms with the fact that whatever the real MVP felt about her, Michael doesn’t know her that well. Abby, on the other hand, has been changed by the Initiative and is not the scared girl who first joined. They both agree to start fresh and introduce themselves by their real names.
Lastly, while nobody is looking, Slapstick decides to pocket the mind wiping device from KIA’s brow. Seeing that it is primed to transfer KIA’s mind into a new body, Slapstick thinks it will be funny to try it out someday and sticks it in his pocket.[4]
Recurring Characters
The Initiative staff: Henry Gyrich, Baron Von Blitzschlag, War Machine, Nighthawk, Gargoyle, Stingray, Hellcat, Justice
Trainees: Cloud 9, Debrii, Hardball, Komodo, Rage, Slapstick, Stature, Triathlon, Ultragirl
Shadow Initiative: Mutant Zero, Scarlet Spiders
KIA, Michael Van Patrick clone, Mighty Avengers (Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Wasp, Wonder Man), SHIELD, Brian Van Patrick
Continuity Notes
The real MVP was killed in a training exercise in Avengers: The Initiative #1. Clones were created starting with the Scarlet Spiders in issue #3 (as revealed in issue #7). To cover up the death of the real MVP, a clone was sent home in his place in issue #4, and was put in hiding in issue #6. This should bring you up to date on everything. KIA was the newest clone who has been on the rampage for the past three issues.
How Jim became a cyborg will be explained in War Machine (vol. 2) #1, and he will be restored to normal in issue #12 of that series.
As explained in Avengers: The Initiative #1, Komodo’s lizard form comes from ingesting Curt Connor’s Lizard formula. As revealed in issue #8, she took it because she is a double amputee missing both of her legs.
From here we never see the mind wipe device again, so who knows. KIA does return having seemingly shaken off the mind wipe. He’ll seen again in Deadpool: Assassin #4 before being killed off in the next issue of that series.
Topical References
Slapstick makes a bunch of topical references throughout this issue in the form of jokes that he makes. These are:
Making an association between KIA’s name and the Kia motor vehicle company (a real world business).
He incorrectly cites an old Sesamie Street animated segment “I Remember” which features a girl going to the store to get some items for her mother. In order to remember she repeats wat she needs over and over. Since the joke hinges on this pop-culture reference it wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference.
When stabbed by he says “of course you realize, this means war!” This line was uttered by comedian Groucho Marx in the 1935 film A Night at the Opera. The line was coopted by Looney Tunes and used many times in their early shorts, the first being Case of the Missing Hare from 1942. This wouldn’t be considered a topical reference because using a more contemporary catchphrase would change the joke.
He ends the story by saying “Th-th-that’s all folks!” This was the common refrain made by the character Porky Pig at the end of many Looney Toon cartoons. It was first used as a gag in the short Rover’s Revival released in 1937. This is another joke that would change if the reference was topical, so y’know.
I fucking hate these joke characters and the writers who only think pop-culture references = funny. It’s some hack bullshit.
