Nick Peron

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Avengers: The Initiative #28

Nick Peron

Uprising

Credits

In Nevada, Nonstop (Madeline Michaels) is fleeing from her team, the Heavy Hitters — Prodigy (Richie Gilmore), Outback, and Telemetry (Marina Zane) — for going AWOL and speaking ill of the Initiative to the press.[1] They are needled on by Outback, but Prodigy thinks they can sort this out without violence. Nonstop points out that their new recruit is actually Boomerang (Fred Myers) a hired assassin. That’s when the media shows up to find out what’s going on. When pressed about Nonstop’s earlier criticism of the Initiative, Prodigy decides to do the right thing. After knocking out “Outback”, he tells the press that Norman Osborn has been stacking the Initiative teams with supervillains for some nefarious purpose. He then announces that the Heavy Hitters are seceding from the Initiative.

This coverage is caught by the Avengers Resistance — Justice (Vance Astrovik), Debrii (Deborah Fields), Gauntlet (Joe Green), Night Thrasher (Donyell Taylor), Rage (Elvin Haliday), the Scarlet Spider, Slapstick (Steve Harmon), Tigra (Greer Grant) and Ultragirl (Suzy Sherman) — who have dedicated themselves to shutting Norman Osborn down for good. It’s a no brainer that Osborn will come down on the Heavy Hitters immediately and Tigra begins organizing an extraction team to help the Hitters get away.

Osborn is absolutely doing just as they theorize, and is holding a meeting with his assistant Victoria Hand and the Hood (Parker Robbins) who is running the Initiative for Norman. Osborn wants the Heavy Hitters dealt with and decides to send two teams, the Forces of Nature a team mostly of members of the Hood’s gang, and the Freedom Force who were formed during Tony Stark’s regime in order to obfuscate any schisms within the Initiative. When he learns that Freedom Force’s Cloud 9 (Abby Boylen) is a skilled sniper he gives them orders to have her use lethal force.[2] They also plan a public relations blitz to manipulate support for the Initiative. They decide to trot out Constrictor, Butterball, and Penance to commend their recent liberation of Prison 42.[3] They also use the opportunity to reveal that Hardball (Roger Brockridge) — who had previously been arrested for defecting to Hydra — as a double-agent the entire time.[4]

Taskmaster breaks this news to Komodo (Melati Kusama), Roger’s ex-girlfriend, and that they will be serving on the same team. When she threatens to quit, Taskmaster warns her that if she does he will use SPIN tech to take away her powers, leaving her disabled once more. Although this causes Melati pause for a moment, she decides her principals are more important that keeping her legs. A few hours later, a depowered Kusama wheels herself out of Camp HAMMER in her wheelchair.[5]

Meanwhile, the Avengers Resistance is speeding toward the midwest. During their downtime, Justice and Ultragirl have a chance to talk about how things are going between them. Suzy explains that her parents are being hit hard by the negative PR that Osborn has been putting out about her, putting them in financial jeopardy. Justice understands how brutal that is, since his father’s death is being brought up as well.[6] He promises to get the Taylor Foundation to do something to help her parents out financially. That’s when Suzy brings up their relationship status, something that Vance has been avoiding since they were reunited.[7] Justice tells her he doesn’t feel that the time is right to be in a relationship right now. This came after an encounter with his ex, Firestar (Angelica Jones). Seeing her again made him realize how much the world has changed when he first joined the New Warriors and how it effected everybody.[8] Now with Norman Osborn running the show he can’t be sure of the future, particularly since he handed Norman a win recently with the MVP fiasco. He’s not even sure if what they are doing now is helping or making matters worse.[9] Suzy understands, and promises to Vance that she will be a shoulder to lean on when he needs it.

In Las Vegas, the Heavy Hitters have just finished their press conference and are trying to figure out their next move. That’s when they are ambushed by Force of Nature. Prodigy’s hope that Sunstreak (Andrea Roark) will help them get away because they went through training together. However, Andrea is willing to bring Richie in because of the perks of following Osborn have given her a very comfortable life. Soon, Force of Nature is joined by members of the Shadow Initiative, the U-Foes, and members of the Hood’s Gang still going through training. Luckily for the Heavy Hitters, the Avengers Resistance arrive.

As a massive brawl breaks out between both sides, the Taskmaster and Cloud 9 observe from a nearby building. Cloud 9 prepares to take a shot at Night Thrasher but misses. Taskmaster, on the other hand, doesn’t and hits Donyell in the side of the head. Justice tries to get to his friend, but there is just too much opposition. Prodigy tells Vance and his team to retreat while he keeps Osborn’s flunkies back. Richie is willing to sacrifice himself for following Osborn to begin with. Vance understands and tells Prodigy that he is a true hero and soon he and his team leave, but not before Tigra gets a recording of the beating Richie suffers from Norman’s army.

Back at their hideout, Tigra arranges for Nonstop and Telemetry to be smuggled out of the country via Hank Pym.[10] The team is then shocked when Debrii reveals that she wants out. She only joined up with the New Warriors to be a reality TV star and only stuck around because of Night Thrasher. Now that he is either dead or captured, she has no reason to stick around.[11]

Back at Camp HAMMER, Trauma (Terrance Ward) is plagued with bad dreams stemming from the guilt he feels about manipulating Penance for Osborn.[12] These dreams are spurred by Trauma’s father, the dream demon known as Nightmare.[13] Meanwhile, in the lab, Donyell Taylor wakes up and discovers that he is still alive thanks to the armor in his helmet. Standing over him are Norman Osborn, Baron Von Blitzschlag, and the Hood.[14] Osborn has decided to make Donyell and asset by offering him a chance to bring his brother back. To prove his intentions, he shows Donyell that he has Dwayne’s body in some kind of suspension tank.[15]

Recurring Characters

Initiative staff: Taskmaster, The Hood, Baron Von Blitzschlag, Trauma

Trainees/Hood’s Gang: Brother Grimm, Razor-Fist, Griffin, Scorcher

HAMMER (Norman Osborn, Victoria Hand), Shadow Initiative (Constrictor, Badd Axe, Butterball, Komodo, Penance, Ringer, Warbow), Avengers Resistance (Justice, Debrii, Gauntlet, Night Thrasher, Rage, Scarlet Spider, Slapstick, Tigra, Ultragirl), Heavy Hitters (Prodigy, Nonstop, Outback, Telemetry), Hardball, Force of Nature (Aqueduct, Skybreaker, Sunstreak, Terraformer), Freedom Force (Challenger, Cloud 9, Equinox, Think Tank), U-Foes (Vector, Vapor, X-Ray, Ironclad), Nightmare

Continuity Notes

  1. Nonstop’s dissention in the ranks is due to the fact that Norman Osborn is in charge of things since he killed the leader of the Skrull invasion of Earth in Secret Invasion #8. This made him America’s top cop, giving him control over the Initiative. His first duty was to use it as a training ground for supervillains who would then be placed on teams in the 50-State Initiative posing as new heroes. See Avengers: The Initiative #25-26.

  2. Here, Norman Osborn states that the Challenger comes from an era where they unquestioningly listen to authority. Bill Waring was a hero from World War II whose career began in Daring Mystery Comics #7. He was somehow pulled forward in time to the Modern Age starting in She-Hulk #11. This was confirmed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2.

  3. Prison 42 is a facility that was built in the Negative Zone to house superhumans who have been arrested, it opened its doors in Civil War: Front Line #5. More recently, the facility was captured by Blastaar in Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #8-10 and liberated by the Shadow Initiative last issue.

  4. Hardball was blackmailed into joining Hydra in exchange for a cure for his brother, who was crippled by a side effect of the Power Brokers strength augmentation process. He was later apprehended and incarcerated in Prison 42. After Blastaar took it over, Roger helped with restoring order. See Avengers: The Initiative Special #1, and issues #21-25 and last issue.

  5. Komodo and Roger started dating in Avengers: The Initiative #8, but things ended on a sour note when he choose Hydra over in Avengers: The Initiative Special #1. As explained in that same issue, Melati lost her legs in a car accident and used a modified version of Curt Connors’ Lizard formula to regenerate new legs whenever she is in her Komodo form.

  6. Vance Astrovik endured abuse from his father for years until one day he snapped and accidentally killed him in self-defense in New Warriors #20. Vance was found guilty of negligent homicide and sentenced to prison in issues #25-26. He served his time in the Vault and was eventually released in issue #43 of that series.

  7. Vance and Suzy were revealed to be having a relationship in Avengers: The Initiative #6. However, Suzy broke it off after she graduated and was assigned to the Freedom Force in issue #12. The two have recently been reunited in Avengers: The Initiative #25 when Suzy decided to leave the Initiative after the MVP cloning scandal was exposed.

  8. Vance goes into the current status of the original New Warriors, who were first formed in New Warriors #1. Including himself they are:

    • Nova (Richard Rider) is stated as becoming a intergalactic war hero. At the time of this story, Rider has been in space as a member of the Nova Corps since Annihilation: Prologue #1.

    • Firestar (Angelica Jones): Was in a relationship with Vance since New Warriors #6. They were later engaged in issue #75 of that series. She later broke off the engagement in I ♥ Marvel: Masked Intentions #1. After the Super Human Registration Act was passed in Civil War #3, she decided to quit being a superhero as seen in Civil War: Front Line #3.

    • Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor): Is stated to have died in the Stamford Disaster in Civil War #1. In reality, he was plucked out of and pulled forward in time by the Collector as we’ll see in Contest of Champions (vol. 2) #5.

    • Namorita (Prentis) is also listed as having died in the Stamford Disaster. This is ture. As of this writing (August, 2024) she is still considered among the deceased. However, her past self will be pulled forward in time as well, as seen in Nova (vol. 4) #32.

    • Speedball (Robbie Baldwin): Vance says he hasn’t heard from him in ages and believes he is maintaining a low profile. One of the only apparent survivors of the Stamford Disaster, Robbie was made a scapegoat and dragged through the legal system. This eventually led to him reinventing himself as Penance as a means of redemption, as seen in Civil War: Front Line #2-10. However, Robbie has been brainwashed and mind wiped and no longer remembers his past.

  9. MVP was an Initiative recruit who was killed in a training accident in Avengers: The Initiative #1, which was covered up by senior staff. This led to attempts at cloning the youth, leading to a rampage by KIA, a rogue clone in issues #8-11. Upon KIA’s defeat, Vance quit the Initiative to monitor them to make sure there was no shady dealings. Later, when the Thor clone known as Ragnarok went on a rampage in issues #21-25, Vance exposed the cloning scandal to the public. This allowed Osborn to shutter Camp Hammond and use the Initiative for his own ends.

  10. At the time of this story, Hank Pym (now the Wasp) has his own team of Avengers who operate out of an extradimensional headquarters known as the Infinite Mansion, which can open doorways to anywhere on Earth. See Mighty Avengers #27.

  11. Debrii joined up with the New Warriors in New Warriors (vol. 3) #4. From here, we’ll see Debrii, Nonstop, and Telemetry again in Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #1-6.

  12. Terrence was forced to continue working for the Initiative and making sure Penance stays under wraps with threats of harm coming to his mother, as seen in Avengers: The Initiative #25.

  13. The revelation that Trauma is the son of Nightmare was revealed in Avengers: The Initiative Special #1.

  14. The Hood commends Donyell for his “cripple act”. As revealed in New Warriors (vol. 4) #1, Donyell pretended to have been crippled in a car accident in his civilian life in order to distance himself from his activities as Night Thrasher.

  15. This is a clone of Dwayne, as will be revealed next issue.

Topical References

  • A USB Drive is depicted on Norman Osborn’s desk in this story. At the time, these devices were just starting to become a standard method of storage. However, since then, the actual size of these devices has gotten much smaller and its depiction is reflective of the technology when this comic was originally published in 2009. As such, this should be considered topical.

  • Taskmaster states that Cloud 9 has a 007 license to kill. This is a reference to James Bond, a fictional British spy created by author Ian Fleming. 007 was his codename in the British Secret Service. The character was known to have a license to kill. First appearing in the 1953 novel Casino Royale, Bond has appeared in 12 novels by Fleming and has been adapted into some 26 films. Since Bond is a considered a classic literary character, this reference wouldn’t necessarily be considered topical.

  • Tigra is depicted as using a handheld camcorder to record Prodigy’s beating. These were still common place when this story was published in 2009. However, they have fallen out of common use thanks to the advent of the smart phone and its depiction here should be considered topical.

  • Debrii decides to go to Paris, saying that if it is good enough for Josephine Baker, it’s good enough for her. Baker was an vaudeville entertainer who left America in 1925 and became a sensation in France where she acted for years until her sudden death in 1975. She has become historically significant not just for her acting, but her civil rights activities as well. As such, this would not be considered a topical reference.