Nick Peron

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Avengers: The Initiative #22

Nick Peron

Avengers: The Initiative - Disassembled, Part 2

Credits

Ragnarok, a mad clone of Thor, has been unleashed at Camp Hammond, the training grounds for the Initiative.[1] However, in the middle of his rampage, he is confronted by the outlaw New Warriors — Night Thrasher (Doynelle Traylor), Debrii (Deborah Fields), Justice (Vance Astrovik), Rage (Elvin Halliday), the Scarlet Spiders (clones of Michael Van Patrick) and Slapstick (Steve Harmond. The impostor is unphased by their arrival but it put into another fit of rage when Justice calls the clone an affront to the real Thor.[2]

Meanwhile, Cloud 9 (Abby Boylen) and UItragirl (Suzy Sherman) are leaving the locker room. Suzy is upset that she is no longer legally allowed to wear the Ms. Marvel costume gifted to her by Carol Danvers.[3] She is also not happy with the changes made to the Initiative since Norman Osborn took over from Tony Stark.[4] Their conversation is interrupted when a SHIELD operative runs by and tells them they are under attack. When the two women head outside, Ultragirl is shocked to see her ex-boyfriend, Justice is part of the battle.[5]

As the New Warriors struggle to fight Ragnarok, Night Thrasher orders the Scarlet Spiders to hack into his cybernetic systems and shut him down. However, when they attempt to do so through their Iron Spider armor, they discover that much of the Thor clone’s Starktech has been enhanced with Skrull technology.

As the battle spills out onto the streets, Gauntlet and Cloud 9 try to evacuate the area. This upsets the locals who are still recovering from the Stamford Disaster. Furious that Ragnarok might cause a similar tragedy, he orders everyone with class 10 strength or higher to pile on the attack. Tigra (Greer Grant) joins the others, but after narrowly avoiding Ragnarok’s hammer she becomes concerned about the baby she is carrying and retreats back to help with the evacuation.[6] Enraged even more, Thor then bowls everyone over with a massive jolt of lightning.

Meanwhile, the Shadow Initiative — Taskmaster, Bengal (Doc No Tranh), Constrictor (Frank Schlichting), Komodo (Melati Kusama), and Mutant Zero (Mary Walker, aka Typhoid Mary) — have been deployed to Madripoor to arrest Hardball (Roger Brockridge) who betrayed the Initiative to Hydra.[7] They have to maintain a low profile due to the political situation in Madripoor,[8] forcing Mary to ditch her Mutant X armor for her usual Typhoid Mary attire. However, they don’t have to search for Hardball, who has found them instead. He has come with an army of Hydra soldiers and his new girlfriend, the woman known as the Scorpion (Carmilla Black).[9]

Back in Stamford, the battle against Ragnarok rages on, however one of the Scarlet Spiders figures that they might still be able to hack into the tech in Thor’s hammer as long as it too hasn’t been altered. However, while attempting to do so, one of the Spiders (the clone named Michael) is killed, leaving his “brother” Patrick alone.[10] That’s when they get an assist from an unexpected source, Baron Von Blitzschlag — who was revitalized when Ragnarok attacked him earlier.[11] Withstanding Ragnarok’s lightning attacks, the Baron — with the aid of Patrick — reveal the truth about Ragnarok’s origins and that the real Thor is alive once more. While Ragnarok is finally convinced, he decides that he will face this other Thor in order to determine which of the two are truly worthy. With that, the cloned thunder god flies off into the night sky.[12]

In the aftermath of the battle, Thor Girl (Tarene) wakes up Trauma (Terrence Ward) who was knocked out while using his fear powers to assume the form of the real Thor. However, unlike the Skrull impostor that briefly posed as her, Tarene knows that Terrance was merely imitating Thor. She then departs to be reunited with the Asgardians, a final nail in the coffin proving to Terrance that this isn’t the same woman he fell in love with.[13]

Meanwhile, Baron Von Blitzschlag mourns the loss of Michael and tries to reconnect with Patrick. However, the lone Scarlet Spider no longer considers him family, but asks that Patrick be buried with Van. At that moment, Gauntlet tells Justice that while the New Warriors helped with the fight, he has orders to arrest them.[14] Vance doesn’t care as they had come with one purpose in mind. With the help of Patrick, he recovers the body of MVP (Michael Van Patrick) who was used in the Initiatives cloning experiments and reveals this dark secret to the gathered media.[15]

Recurring Characters

Initiative staff: Gauntlet, Baron Von Blitzschlag, Trauma, Doc Samson, Gargoyle

Trainees: Prodigy, Sunstreak

Shadow Initiative: Taskmaster, Batwing, Bengal, Constrictor, Komodo, Mutant Zero

Gratuates/Assigned members: Annex, Cloud 9, Geiger, Hellcat, Stingray, Red 9, Tigra, Ultragirl

New Warriors (Night Thrasher, Debrii, Justice, Rage, Scarlet Spiders, Slapstick), Thor Girl, Ragnarok, Hydra (Hardball, Scorpion), SHIELD, MVP (corpse)

Continuity Notes

  1. During the period that the real Thor was deceased (between Thor (vol. 2) #85 and Thor (vol. 3) #1) a clone of him was created in Civil War #4. It was kept at Camp Hammond since Avengers: The Initiative #1 until it was reactivated in issue #20 by a failsafe set by Criti Noll, a Skrull posing as Yellowjacket.

  2. The New Warriors state that they are clearing up their good name. The Warriors became scapegoats for the Stamford Disaster, an explosion that claimed hundreds of lives in Civil War #1.

  3. Ultragirl was gifted with Ms. Marvel’s original costume (worn between Ms. Marvel #1 and 20) when she graduated from the Initiative in Avengers: The Initiative #12. Last issue she was informed by Osborn’s lawyers that she was no longer allowed to wear it. This is because he is propping up Karla Sofen (aka Moonstone) as the new Ms. Marvel on his team of Avengers. See Dark Avengers #1.

  4. Tony Stark was made Director of SHIELD in New Avengers #25. He lost that role when he became a scapegoat for the Skrull invasion of Earth. When Norman Osborn killed the Skrull leader he was given that role in his place. See Secret Invasion #1-8.

  5. Ultragirl and Justice were revealed to have a romance in Avengers: The Initiative #6. However, they were forced to break it off in issue #12 when Suzy graduated and was assigned to one of the 50-State Initiative teams.

  6. Tigra revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #20 that she was impregnated by the phony Yellowjacket who she started a relationship with in Might Avengers #3. She will give birth to this child in Avengers: The Initiative #35.

  7. Hardball was roped into joining Hydra in order to get a cure for his brother who had become disabled by a side effect from the Power Broker’s strength augmentation process. See Avengers: The Initiative #4, Annual #1, and Special #1.

  8. It is mentioned how Iron Man had deposed Madame Hydra as ruler of Madripoor, replacing her with Tyger Tiger until an election can be held. This happened in Iron Man: Director of SHIELD Annual #1.

  9. Komodo’s relationship with Hardball is mentioned here. The two started a romance in Avengers: The Initiative #8 that ended on a sour note when he chose Hydra over her in Avengers: The Initiative Special #1.

  10. When they first appeared in Avengers: The Initiative #3, there were three Scarlet Spiders. One of them (Van) was killed by KIA in issue #10. As of this writing (July, 2024), both clones are still considered among the deceased.

  11. Baron Von Blitzschlag was weakened to the point he needed a wheelchair after being injured in Avengers: The Initiative #9. He was attacked by Ragnarok last issue.

  12. For more on what Ragnarok gets up to, see Thor #607-608 and 610.

  13. As explained in Avengers: The Initiative #18 and Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12, the Thor Girl who joined the Initiative back in issue #1 was a Skrull impostor. This impostor became enamored by Terry when he assumed the form of Thor during World War Hulk as seen in Avengers: The Initiative #5. From here, we will see Tarene again in Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #1-6.

  14. Norman Osborn put out a warrant to arrest the New Warriors last issue.

  15. MVP was an Initiative recruit who was killed in a training accident in Avengers: The Initiative #1. This was quickly covered up by senior staff. As revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #7, MVP was used to create a number of clones: A copy of Michael that was sent back home with his family in Avengers: The Initiative #4, the Scarlet Spiders, as well as the insane MVP which went on a rampage in Avengers: The Initiative #8-11.

Topical References

  • Ultragirl likens being given Ms. Marvel’s costume to being asked by Caroline Herrera to design a dress. Herrera is a famous fashion designer who founded her own company in 1980. That said, while she was a fashion icon when this comic was published in 2009, she is 85 years old as I write this in July, 2024, so she’s not long for the world. Moreover, her name can be replaced with a more contemporary person and as such her reference here is topical.