Captain America #399

Jun 27

Jun 27 Captain America #399

Operation: Galactic Storm Part 8 - Twenty Million Light Years From Earth

This story continues from Thor #445…

An escalating war between the Kree and the Shi’ar has put Earth at risk as the warp gate between the two empires is destabilizing Earth’s son. The Avengers have responded by sending delegations to both sides of the conflict. The Kree delegation — consisting of Captain America, Iron Man, Goliath, Black Knight, Sersi, Hercules, and Crystal — has just surrendered to the Kree empire. Captain America is unhappy with this decision as Iron Man overstepped his authority to do so.[1]

Upon their arrival on the planet Hala, the Avengers are transferred from the custody of Shatteraxe’s Exo-Weapons Division to Ronan and his Accuser Corps. However, before the exchange can be completed, Captain America gives Sersi a signal, prompting her to use her powers to briefly blind the Kree in a flash of light while she transmutes their costumes to resemble the armor worn by the Accusers. This gives the Avengers the ability to slip away before they are discovered. Once getting away from the space port, they seek shelter in a public restroom to figure out their next move. Once there, Iron Man orders Sersi to restore his armor back to its original form and furiously tells her never to tamper with it again without his permission.[2] Iron Man makes the unilateral decision that he will provide the rest of the team with reconnaissance while on Hala. When Captain America disputes this, Iron Man pulls rank, reminding Cap that he is a founding member and has overriding authority.[3] Seeing he has no choice, Cap agrees to let Iron Man go, but Goliath insists on tagging along since he can hitch a ride on Iron Man by shrinking himself down to ant-size.

Elsewhere on the planet at an abandoned power station, Ultimus has arrived hoping to finally learn the secret of his lost past, vowing to quit Hala if he doesn’t find answers soon.[4] There he meets with Shatteraxe and Korath the Pursuer who have also been summoned to the area. The trio are then greeted by the one who summoned them: The android proxy for the Supreme Intelligence called Supremor. It tells them that they will help him restore the Supreme Intelligence to his rightful place as ruler of the Kree Empire.[5]

Meanwhile, the Avengers have ditched their Accuser disguises in favor of disguising themselves as ordinary Kree civilians. As they try to find their way to the heart of the empire, they notice a large flying billboard informing the people of the Terran fugitives on the loose.[6] That’s when Cap gets a call from Iron Man who tells them what the government building looks like. Unable to see it from the street level, the Avengers decide to hijack one of the flying “wanted posters” that float above the city. However, the Supreme Intelligence soon sends Korath the Pursuer to attack the Avengers, forcing them to drop their disguises and fight back.

Captain America leaps out at Korath and fights the Kree cyborg’s Beta-Batons out of his hands, before wrecking his jet boots sending both men falling. Captain America tries to direct his descent so he can land back on the ship the Avengers captured. Seeing that Cap won’t make it on his own, the Black Knight uses his photonic sword to cut down the massive screen displaying their photos so it juts out enough for Cap to grab hold of. Succeeding, Captain America quickly pulls himself back up and thanks the Knight for his assistance.

… This story continues in Avengers West Coast #81.

Recurring Characters

Avenges (Captain America, Black Knight, Crystal, Goliath, Hercules, Iron Man, Sersi), Shatteraxe, Ronan the Accuser, Ultimus, Korath the Pursuer, Supremor,

Continuity Notes

Iron Man made the decision to surrender the Avengers to the Kree in Iron Man #278.
The reason why Tony is so testy here is because his Iron Man armor is also acting as a life support system keeping him alive. Tony’s health has been in bad shape for a while. It all started when he was shot by a stalker in Iron Man #242. This left him bound to a wheelchair until his mobility was restored by a new experimental bio-chip in Iron Man #248. TL;DR version the bio-chip was later used by rival businessman Kearson DeWitt to ruin Tony’s body. By the time this was stopped circa Iron Man #269 a great deal of damage had already been done. This will remain the status quo until Iron Man #290.
Iron Man was a founding member of the group back in Avengers #1. Cap didn’t join the team until issue #4. Although Iron Man uses this to pull rank, by Avengers (vol. 3) #4, Captain America will be given founder status on the team (replacing the Hulk) due to his long tenure on the team.
Ultimus had been stranded on Earth for thousands of years and recently escaped that planet to uncover the lost true of his origins. See Thor #209 and Excalibur #20. He was offered the truth by the Supreme Intelligence in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #7. By Avengers #346 he will have learned about his Kree heritage. It’s later revealed in Blackwulf #7 that Ultimus was stranded on Earth by the Devaint known as Tantalus. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #5 reveals that Ultimus is one of the last surviving Kree Eternals.
The Supreme Intelligence was deposed as Kree ruler after he was driven mad by the Soul Gem in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #8. Although his sanity was restored in issue #31 of that series, the Intelligence was satisfied to let others lead the empire while he manipulated events from behind the scenes.
Crystal remarks that the Kree people live similar lives to the Alpha Primitives when they used to live below the Inhumans. The Alpha Primitives, first seen in Fantastic Four #47, were a class of genetically engineered slave labor that did menial tasks for the Inhumans. Growing guilty of their use as slaves, the Inhuman royal family later freed the Alpha Primitives from bondage in Fantastic Four #150.

Cross to Bear

Rachel Leighton, aka Diamondback, has been kidnapped by Crossbones so he can torment her.[1] Taking her to an abandoned subway station, she has been tormented for twelve hours. Growing hungry, Crossbones decides to head up to the surface to get some food, leaving Rachel handcuffed to a pillar.

Not long after he is gone, a group of punks walking the subway system come up from the tunnel and see Rachel. Rather than free her from her cuffs, the young punks decide to have some fun at her expense. However, before they can rape her, Crossbones returns from getting foot. He fatally stabs one of the gang members in the back, snaps another’s neck, shoots another with his crossbow, and kicks another one onto the third rail of the subway line, electrocuting him to death. This leaves their leader as the last man standing and he threatens to cut Rachel’s throat unless Crossbones backs off.

Crossbones pulls out his own knife, which is much, much larger. Panicking the gang leader tosses his knife at Crossbones. The mercenary is about to snatch it out of the wait without any injury and then chokes the punk to death. Then, acting as though he didn’t just murder five people, Crossbones sits down and begins digging in. He tells Rachel that she is going to tell him everything she knows about Captain America tempting her with some food if she complies. When Rachel asks if Crossbones will let her go or kill her after she tells, the villain quips that he shouldn’t give him any ideas.

Recurring Characters

Diamondback, Crossbones

Continuity Notes

Diamondback was captured by Crossbones, aka Brock Rumlow in Captain America #396. She and Brock go way back to when they were much younger, as revealed next issue. Rachel wanted to join Brock Rumlow’s Savage Crims street gang. Rather than let her in he raped and beat her, then murdered two of her brothers. Rachel will get free from Crossbones in Captain America #411.