Avengers: The Initiative #2

Jul 13

Jul 13 Avengers: The Initiative #2

Hero Moment

At Camp Hammond, Gauntlet runs the new recruits — Cloud 9 (Abby), Hardball, Komodo and Trauma (Terrance Ward) — through a training exercise.[1][2] Watching the proceedings are Yellowjacket (Hank Pym) and Justice (Vance Astrovik).[3] Vance takes issue that Gauntlet is still disparaging his former team, the New Warriors,[4] and also wonders MVP (Michael Van Patrick) hasn’t been seen in days. Hank can only say that Michael’s whereabouts the past few days are classified.[5]

As the raw recruits push themselves through the training course, they all worry about washing out and having their powers taken away, just like what happened to Armory. Cloud 9 is still struggling with the death of MVP which has haunted her. This causes the Trauma’s fear powers to kick in, transforming him into a zombified version of MVP and begins terrorizing her. Yellowjacket and Justice rush onto the scene, with Hank reminding Vance that talking about MVP is off limits. When Pym pulls Terrance away from Abby, he returns to normal. He apologizes to Yellowjacket, but says that he can’t control his powers. As if on cue, his powers manifest again and this time he turns into Pym’s greatest fear — losing control and beating his ex-wife again.[6] This time, Vance has to pull Trauma away. Both he and Vance decide it is time to have a meeting about things, but when they turn to Yellowjacket they discover he has run off.

Hank has returned to his quarters where he goes looking for his anti-anxiety medication.[7] He decides against taking them and then tries to call his ex-wife, the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne). Janet is on a date, but Hank hangs up before she gets a chance to answer the call. The reason is because he has gotten a page to report to the camp’s lab.

When he arrives he finds Secretary Henry Gyrich and resident scientist Baron Von Blitzschlag. Blitzschlag has finished examining the body of MVP and discovered that his body is the human peak. While this is understood as the boy is a descendant of Abraham Erskine — the inventor of the Super Soldier Serum that created Captain America — Michael Van Patten attained human perfection through rigorous hard work.[8] The former Nazi scientist insists that more examination needs to be done and so the corpse cannot be destroyed or returned to his family.[9] While Pym takes issue with this, Gyrich is looking for ways to cut corners since the Initiative’s mandate is to create superhero teams in all 50 states and they don’t have nearly enough superhumans to pulls this off. Blitzschlag also justifies his past as a Nazi by pointing out that what he did during World War II was nothing compared to the evils that Pym put into the world, notably the robot Ultron, and the clone of Thor, which they have in a suspension tank in the lab.[10] Their argument it cut short by a sudden emergency alert.

The emergency is coming from the state of Texas where a Hydra terror carrier has appeared over the President’s summer ranch. First responders to the call are the Rangers — Texas Twister (Drew Daniels), Shooting Star (Victoria Star), Red Wolf (William Talltrees), the Phantom Rider (Hamilton Slade), Living Lighting (Miguel Santos), and the Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez) — while they deal with Hydra and evacuating a nearby town, the President refuses to leave during a time of war. He has faith that the Initiative will be able to step in and stop Hydra’s attack.

Back at Camp Hammond, War Machine (Jim Rhodes) has gathered all the Initiative’s fliers and is prepping them to go into battle. He hands Cloud 9 a sniper rifle since she has the highest cadet rating in the firing range. While Abby is uncertain of her skill, Jim tries to assuage her jitters by saying it’ll be like playing a video game. Watching the fliers go are Hardball and Komodo who complain about not being picked for this mission. This is overheard by Gauntlet who shoves jetpacks into their hands and tells them to get going. While Hardball complains about not having any practice with them, Komodo figures they have nothing to lose figuring it out on the go. Before War Machine and his team use the Negative Zone portal to jump to Texas, Yellowjacket stops them long enough to suggest using his new “stinger” missiles — which use Vibranium alloys — to pierce the force field around the Hydra vessel.

As they pass through the portal, War Machine guides them through the disorientation the portal causes and tells them to get a good look at Prison 42, which is where all superhuman combatants are incarcerated. Of all the recruits, Hardball pays the closest attention to the facility.[11] When the exit from the Texas portal they join the Mighty Avengers — Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Wonder Man (Simon Williams), and Black Widow (Natasha Romanov) in the fight. As Cloud 9 uses her rifle to shoot down enemy planes, she is horrified to see that they aren’t bailing out at the last second making her realize how real this is.

At command headquarters, Henry Gyrich is giving a sitrep to Iron Man (Tony Stark, the Director of SHIELD) who is en route with the SHIELD helicarrier to provide backup. After the call, Trauma is brought to Gyrich. Terrance believes that he has washed out of the Initiative, but Gyrich angrily believes that Trauma should be out there fighting for his country with the others.

In the field, the Initiative are doing well pushing back Hydra to the point that their leader decides to crash their ship to eliminate the President. This is as War Machine fires his stinger shell, which pierces through the force field of the terror carrier. However, rather than an explosive payload, it contains the shrunken form of Yellowjacket. Once past the barrier, Hank grows to giant size and redirects the plummeting ship where it will not harm anyone in the resulting explosion.

Although it seems as though Yellowjacket is killed in the blast, he miraculously survives, telling everyone that he survived by shrinking down to sub-atomic size to ride out the blast shockwave.[12] For his selfless actions, Yellowjacket and the Initiative are called to the White House, where the President awards him with Presidential Medal of Freedom. Standing on the sidelines of the press conference are Hardball, Komodo, and Cloud 9. They are pumped after a successful mission, particularly Cloud 9, who is relieved they survived their first mission without someone getting hurt or killed.

Back at base, Henry Gyrich takes Trauma down to a lower level of the facility that Terrance hasn’t been to before. There they are greeted by the Beast (Hank McCoy) of the X-Men, who is happy to see his old “friend”, Gyrich.[13] He has come as security detail for the woman who has been sent to help Terrance learn to control his fear powers.[14]

Recurring Characters

The Initiative staff: “Yellowjacket”, Justice, War Machine, Gauntlet, Henry Gyrich, Baron Von Blitzschlag, Triathlon

Trainees: Cloud 9, Hardball, Komodo, Trauma, MVP (corpse), Gargoyle, Nighthawk, Ultra Girl, “Thor Girl”, “Hulkling”, “Wiccan”

Mighty Avengers (Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Wasp, Wonder Man, Black Widow), Rangers (Texas Twister, Shooting Star, Red Wolf, Phantom Rider, Red Wolf, Living Lightning, Armadillo), Hydra, SHIELD, Beast, Moonstar (voice only), Thor clone (corpse)

Continuity Notes

Here we see a statue honoring the original Human Torch (Jim Hammond). He is referred to as the “First Marvel” as he is considered the first Marvel superhero given that he appeared way back in Marvel Comics #1. At the time of this story, Hammond had recently sacrificed his life in New Invaders #9. The Torch will later be revived by AIM in Torch #2.
A number of characters real names are have yet to be revealed in this story, but elsewhere. They include:
- Gauntlet’s full name (Joe Green) is revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #6.
- Cloud 9: Last issue revealed 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 later in this issue.
The man who appears to be Yellowjacket here is actually a Skrull spy, as seen in Mighty Avengers #15. They took the place of the real Hank Pym circa House of M #1.
Vance was a founding member of the team as seen in New Warriors #1. In more recent times, the New Warriors became villified and blamed for the Stamford Disaster which happened in Civil War #1. It was the catalyst for the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) which was passed into law in Civil War #3. It will remain in effect until Siege #4.
As we saw last issue, MVP was killed in a training exercise accident. The incident was covered up by senior staff at Camp Hammond. This was also when Armory washed out of the Initiative.
The real Yellowjacket had been married to the Wasp for years starting in Avengers #60. However, the rocky romance came to an abrupt end after he struck her in Avengers #213. They have had an on-again-off-again relationship ever since. However, they have been apart since a spat in Mighty Avengers #15, prior to Hank being replaced with a Skrull.
We see a number of photos on the wall that takes art from previous issues of the Avengers Hank in his various identities. They are:
- A picture of Hank as Giant-Man, this is taken from the cover of Tales to Astonish #60. (He became Giant-Man for the first time in issue #49 of that series).
- A picture of the original Avengers with Captain America taken from the cover of Avengers #4.
- Two pictures of the OG Avengers with Rick Jones taken from the splash page of Avengers #5.
- A picture of Hank and Janet. This was taken from Avengers #75 (page 4 to be exact).
- Hank as Goliath (an identity he first used in Avengers #28) lifting up his friend Bill Foster. This is taken from Avengers #34 (page 8).
- Lastly, Hank and Janet’s wedding photo is from Avengers #60, ‘natch.
Erskine created the Super Soldier Serum waaaay back in Captain America Comics #1. We learned of MVP’s relation and also saw his death last issue.
As we’ll see next issue, Blitzschlag uses MVP’s genetics to create clones. The fact that Baron Blitzschlag is a Nazi is reinforced throughout the series and is baked into his backstory. To date, Marvel has not specifically addressed how he could still be alive in the Modern Age, see below for more.
In one of the suspension tanks we see the clone of Thor which was created and seemingly killed in Civil War #4-5. He will be revived in Avengers: The Initiative #21. The revelation that Hank created Ultron — an ever present Avengers foe — was revealed in Avengers #60.
Prison 42 was a prison specially designed to house superhumans and was constructed in the Negative Zone to keep them isolated from civilians. It first opened in Civil War: Front Line #5.
In reality, “Yellowjacket” uses their Super-Skrull abilities to change their density to survive the blast, as we’ll learn in Avengers: The Initiative #14.
The Beast and Henry Gyrich have had a long and turbulent relationship during Gyrich’s tenure as the Avengers government liaison starting in Avengers #165. Gyrich held that role until Avengers #235, and was a pain in the butt.
Next issue we’ll learn that the woman sent to help Terrance is Danielle Moonstar. Here she states that she was de-powered by M-Day. This was following the events of House of M #1-8, which ended with the majority of mutants on Earth getting de-powered. Her mutant powers will eventually be restored in Uncanny X-Men (vol. 5) #15.

Topical References

The President of the United States is depicted as George W. Bush, who was the leader of the US at the time this story was published. This should be considered a topical reference. In this story, Bush states that he wants to America safe. This is in the context of the political situation around the time this story was published. The United States was still reeling after the September 11, 2001, which was the largest terrorist attack on American soil, claiming some 3000 lives and destroying the original twin towers of the World Trade Center. This made national security one of the primary mandates of the Bush administration. References to this specific political reality should be considered topical as they were relevant to the time this story was published. Modern readers should interpret this as a more generalized statement than anything specifically tied to 9/11.
In addition to this, it is stated here that the President is staying at Prairie Chapel Ranch, a property purchased by George W. Bush in 1999 and was frequently used as a retreat home when he wasn’t at the White House during his presidency. References to this specific location should also be considered topical as the Bush family still owns the property and it is no longer used in an political capacity. Modern readers could presume that the events of this story happen near a Presidential retreat in Texas, just not Prairie Chapel.
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 handing Cloud 9 a sniper rifle, War Machine tells her that it will be like playing Halo. This is a franchise of first person shooter video games produced by Microsoft which were popular at the time of publication. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world video game and a more contemporary example can be used in its place. She later compares it to playing XBox, which is a gaming console made by Microsoft as well. Its mention is likewise topical.
After shooting down a plane, Abby remarks that she was expecting the pilot to bail out at the last second like “in the cartoons”. She is referring to the original G.I. Joe cartoon which aired from 1983-1986. While a cartoon based on a fictional branch of he military fighting international terrorists, it significantly downplayed the violence in that there were never any casualties. Frequently, when a plane was blown up, animators would show the pilot bailing out seconds before the explosion ever time.

Baron Von Blitzshlag’s Ties to the Nazis

Throughout the run of Avengers: The Initiative, Baron Von Blitzschlag is characterized as a former Nazi scientist. Dark Reign Files #1 states that he was involved in the creation of Nazi super soldiers Master Man and Warrior Woman during World War II. However, as of this writing (July, 2024) Marvel has not specifically stated how he could have survived until the Modern Age. The issue with characters who are tied to World War II is that the years between the 1940s and the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe will continue to grow over time due to the Sliding Timescale. While it would have been possible for a Nazi scientist to still be alive in 2007 when this comic was published, it has become increasingly impossible for one to still be alive, let alone working for the government in any capacity without some means of slowing, suspending, or stopping the aging process. That said, it doesn’t seem like one can dismiss his ties to the Nazis as a topical reference due to how heavily those ties are reinforced throughout this series. Doing so would vastly change his backstory that could clash with established continuity. So given the circumstances, it seems likely that the Baron found a means to extend his life span, which is an impossible feat as we’ve seen elsewhere in the fiction.

Given the fact that Blitzschlag is a brilliant scientist capable of creating super soldiers, giving himself the ability to create lightning, and create clones, it doesn’t seem that far fetched that he also devised a means of extending his lifespan. Particularly when you consider the number of former Nazis (particularly scientists) who have managed to cheat death by similar means (the Red Skull, Baron Strucker, both Baron Zemo’s etc.). One possibility, could be the electrical powers granted some kind of longevity. This is not that outlandish to consider in the scope of the fiction. For example, the profile on the Angel (Thomas Halloway) in Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special #1 states that Halloway had his aging process slowed after being jolted with electricity while trying to save the life of an innocent man on death row.

Another possibility is that he managed to extend his life via his expertise in genetics. If the guy can create clones (as we’ll learn in issue #7), then its also possible he found a way to extend his lifespan. Notably, the Nazi scientist Arnim Zola was able to help himself and his fellow Nazis cheat death by transferring their minds into new bodies. The most notable example was with Adolf Hitler who endures in the Marvel Universe as the Hate Monger. See Super-Villain Team-Up #17 for more on that.