Avengers: The Initiative #24
Avengers: The Initiative - Disassembled, Part 4
Under the orders of Director of National Security Norman Osborn, Camp Hammond has been shut down.[1] Gauntlet (Joe Green) and his wife Althea are busy packing up their belongings as they are relocating to a hotel for the time being. Joe is unhappy about what happened, especially since Osborn is blaming the New Warriros for setting free Ragnarok, a clone of Thor, because that is a huge lie. They are soon approached by the wife of Bengal (Doc No Tranh) who is deeply worried about her husband as she has been kept in the dark after he was sent on a mission with the Shadow Initiative. She is hysterical because she doesn’t know what will happen to her husband now that SHIELD has been dissolved.[2]
The Shadow Initiative — Taskmaster, Bengal, Constrictor (Frank Schlichting), and Mutant Zero (Mary Walker, aka Typhoid Mary) — were in the middle of a covert mission in Madripoor to apprehend Hardball (Roger Brockridge) who defected to Hydra.[3] The mission went sideways when Hardball used SPIN tech to de-power Komodo, forcing the team to retreat. As they were fleeing the city they had just found out that SHIELD has been disbanded, leaving them stranded. To make matters worse, they are ambushed by Roughouse and Bloodscream, two local thugs hired by Hydra to take them out. While Taskmaster and Constrictor deal with Roughouse, Bengal and Mary fight Bloodscream.[4] The battle is quickly ended when Frank chokes Roughouse out and Mary decapitates Bloodscream. However, this doesn’t kill the vampire who — while attaching his head — promises they won’t make it off the island alive.
Mary then starts to freak out, torching Bloodscream with her pyrokinetic powers, as she has been away from the Zero Room for too long and her multiple personalities are starting to come back out.[5] Since things are turning pear shaped, Taskmaster tells Bloodscream that they are defecting to Hydra as well and asks to be taken to their leader.
Meanwhile, Gauntlet has gone to try and get a meeting with Norman Osborn and argues with his assistant, Victoria Hand, until Osborn comes out of his office annoyed by all the racket. Joe demands to know what Norman is doing about the Shadow Initiative and tells him about the Madripoor mission. Norman quickly assures him that HAMMER has taken over from SHIELD and he will be doing something about getting them home. Joe thanks Osborn and leaves. Once he is gone, Norman decides that Gauntlet has become an annoyance and orders Victoria to get his file.
By this time, Taskmaster and his team have been brought to Hardball and told the situation. Roger isn’t sure what to do and confers with his consort, Scorpion (Carmilla Black). She knows that Taskmaster is only in something for himself and that they can’t trust him to be loyal. When she suggests locking them up, he agrees. When Bengal asks what happened to Komodo (Melati Kusama), Hardball warns him to not ask him about that again if he knows what’s good for him.[6] However, when they are led away to be disarmed and locked up, Taskmaster orders his teammates to attack. Once the guards are taken out, he tells Mary to get it together just as more soldiers arrive. When one tries to shoot SPIN darts at her, Mary uses her pyrokinetic powers to incinerate the darts and the Hydra agents in her path.
Meanwhile, Komodo wakes up in Hardball’s quarters and he demands that she turn over the Lizard formula to Hydra.[7] Although she is stuck in her disabled form, she chastises him for defecting and becoming a criminal. Before Roger can respond to this, they hear and explosion and head out to see what’s going on. As he leaves, Melati calls him a coward that makes her sick.
The explosion was caused by Mary who used a gun to blow a tunnel to the surface. She has become unhinged enough that she then abandons her teammates. By this time, Constrictor has managed to send a message on a SHIELD emergency channel in the hopes that it is being monitored by HAMMER. However, before they can get the SPIN tech and run, Hardball uses his powers to block their exit. While Roughouse and Bloodscream attack the Shadow Initiative, Scorpion pulls Roger aside. She knows that Brockridge is only doing this to crush any feelings that Melati has left for him, but fully intends to let their prisoners go. She urges him to do so, revealing that she is a mole within Hydra to bring the organization down. When Roger goes to get the SPIN tech, he discovers that all the darts in his possession were stolen by Scorpion after they kissed. Moments later, Bloodscream is ripped apart by Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady) growing to human size inside his body. At it turns out, O’Grady was sent by Osborn to help extract them.
Constrictor meanswhile catches up to Hardball, who explains that he was going to make sure Komodo was still safe. Frank doesn’t buy this, until Roger explains that he still cares for her, likening his position to the fact that Constrictor continues to let his daughter believe he is dead because it is what’s best for her.[8] Moments later, HAMMER agents storm the building and Roger surrenders.
Soon, the Shadow Initiative are brought back to America, and are welcomed back at Avengers Tower by Norman Osborn and Bengal’s relieved wife.[9] Komodo (whose powers have been restored) asks what will happen to Hardball now that he is in custody. Osborn tells her that Roger is being taken to Prison 42, and assures her that there is no way anyone is getting out of there. Little does Norman know that Blastaar is leading an army of Negative Zone soldiers to attack the prison.[10] He then tells the team that he has set them up with a hotel stay for the night and dismisses everyone but the Taskmaster. However, while Taskmaster figures he’s getting fired for failing to get any of the modified SPIN tech from Hydra,[11] Osborn actually has an offer for him: How would he like to run the Initiative? Taskmaster answers this with a grisly smile.
Recurring Characters
Shadow Initiative (Taskmaster, Bengal, Constrictor, Komodo, Mutant Zero), Gauntlet, HAMMER (Norman Osborn, Victoria Hand), Ant-Man, Hydra (Hardball, Scorpion), Roughouse, Bloodscream, Blastaar
Continuity Notes
Following a rampage caused by a Thor clone named Ragnarok. See the last three issues.
At the time of this story, Norman Osborn was made the Director of National Security after he killed the leader of a Skrull invasion in Secret Invasion #8. One of his first duties (as we saw last issue) was to dissolve SHIELD in favor of a new agency he calls HAMMER.
Hardball defected to Hydra in Avengers: The Initiative Special #1 in exchange for a cure for his brother who had been disabled due to a side effect of the Power Broker’s strength augmentation process.
Here, Taskmaster points out how Constrictor once fought the Hulk. That was back in Incredible Hulk #212.
Mary was first recruited into the Shadow Initiative as Mutant Zero in Avengers: The Initiative #5. Her true identity was revealed in issue #20. When not on missions she stayed in the Zero Room to keep her multiple personalities in check, as explained in issue #21.
Melati was de-powered last issue. Hardball’s grim response is because Komodo is a touchy subject. The two started a romantic relationship in Avengers: The Initiative #8 until he defected to Hydra.
As explained in Avengers: The Initiative Special #1, Melati lost her legs in a car accident. She regained her ability to walk by taking a modified version of the Lizard formula, allowing her to grow legs in her Komodo form. Roger was ordered by Hydra to obtain this formula, leading to his defection.
Frank’s real name is Frank Payne, and — as explained in Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (vol. 3) #36 — he had a daughter named Mia. A former SHIELD agent, he was sent undercover to take down the criminal Corporation, only to suffer a nervous breakdown and become a criminal.
Here, Ant-Man boasts about riding in Black Widow (Yelena Belova’s) cleavage while on a Thunderbolts mission. O’Grady was assigned to the team in Thunderbolts #128. He hid in her cleavage in that same story. What they don’t know is that this was actually Natasha Romanov in disguise (as part of a mission for Nick Fury), which will be exposed in Thunderbolts #134.
For more on the siege on Prison 42, check out Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #8-10.
As explained in Avengers: The Initiative #4, SPIN tech used to require a DNA sample of the target in order to work. Last issue, Hardball stated that Hydra was able to modify it so that it no longer had this limitation.
Topical References
Taskmaster is our resident “pop-culture references = jokes” guy for this issue. All of these references should be considered topical.
Taskmaster refers to Roughouse as “ZZ Top”, a rock band whose two front men are remembered for their exceptionally long beards. This is crack isn’t entirely accurate because Roughouse’s beard isn’t that long, but whatever. This should be a topical reference as you could replace ZZ Top with literally anyone with a famous beard.
Taskmaster complains that the Hydra healthcare plan is HMO only. This is an acronym for a Health Maintenance Organization. It is a healthcare benefit enacted for Americans back in 1973 and part of the nightmare that is healthcare in that country. This may change sometime in the future when America realizes that socialized healthcare is the best way to care for its citizens (I’m not holding my breath on that, though) so this could be considered a topical reference at a later date.
He also makes a quip about Mary not going all “Gary Busey” on them. Busey is a Hollywood actor who is infamous for his erratic behavior and history of addiction at the time this story was published in 2009. That said, as I write this (in August, 2024), Busey is 80 years old and won’t be long for this world. This is topical because you could replace him with a more contemporary eccentric celebrity.
Taskmaster makes yet another pop-culture reference when he says Bloodscream’s voice sounds like “Jerry Lewis on helium”. Lewis was a comedian and part of his schtick was talking in stupid voices. This should be considered topical as Lewis died in 2017.
Later, he compares both Black Widows (Natasha Romanov and Yelana Belova) to Betti Page and Paris Hilton. Betti Page was a pin-up model from the 1950s who was best known for her risque (for the times) photoshoots usually involving bondage and fettish gear, she died in 2008. Meanwhile, Paris Hilton is the heir of the Hilton hotel fortune. At the time this story was published she was celebrity gossip fodder for her appearances on reality TV shows and an infamous sex tape that was leaked to the public, it was all very gross, and she was unfairly judged and subject to her ridiculed for her behavior.
Norman Osborn specifically states that the Shadow Initiative will be staying at the Plaza Hotel, an iconic New York hotel. This wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference as the hotel has been designated a historical building in 1978, there is little chance that it will ever be anything but a hotel, but you never know.
