Force Works #12 — Nick Peron

Nov 16

Nov 16 Force Works #12

Green Fire!

Force Works has returned to the nation of Slorenia to investigate reports of ethnic cleansing being done by the Slorene government toward the Dudak minority that is living in the region. During their investigation things suddenly went to shit.

Scarlet Witch and US Agent had allowed themselves be captured by the genetically engineered Targoth so they could be brought to the Dudak interniment camps. Along the way, the convoy of prisoner trucks is attacked by Ember, the defender of the Dudak people. This comes as a surprise for the Scarlet Witch who thought Ember died during their last encounter.[1] The pair decide to drop their disguises and follow Ember as he blasts his way into the camp to free his people.

Elsewhere, Iron Man had gone looking for Spider-Woman when she hadn’t reported back from searching the Slorene Parliament Buildings. Trying to return to the hex-ship hovering over the country in geo-synchronous orbit, he is ambushed by Black Brigade and his army of robotic drones. Iron Man is on the defensive until the Scarlet Witch radios in and tells him that Ember is back and that they got proof of the atrocities being committed by the Slorenian government. With the proof they came looking for, Iron Man can now take off the kid gloves and begins hammering into Black Brigade full force.

High above the country in the hex-ship, Century had been knocked out by Recorder RE-404. This is so that the robot could focus all the ship’s resources on recording the Force Works’ battle without interruption. However, as the robot is transfixed by the battles being waged on the ground, he fails to see that Century is coming around.

Meanwhile, deep under the Parliament Buildings, Spider-Woman has been captured by Volkvhy, the ancient entity that has been secretly ruling the Slorene people for centuries. He has strapped Julia to “The Project” along with a number of Dudak captives. As it turns out, Volkvhy has been extending his life this whole time by stealing the life forces of others. He has recently expanded the size and scope of the Project so that he can steal even more life energy at once and in the hopes of gaining enough power to destroy Ember — his eternal enemy — once and for all.

However, just as Volkhvy activates the machine, Ember comes smashing through the wall and the two eternal foes engage in combat. Following behind Ember is the Scarlet Witch and US Agent. Seeing Spider-Woman in trouble, they quickly shut down the machine and free her along with the other captives. Wanda orders US Agent and Dr. Irena Renko (a local relief worker) to help evacuate the room while she stays behind and destroys the Project.

As Iron Man’s battle with Black Brigade rages on, Century confronts the Recorder, demanding answers for his hostile actions. Rather than giving answers, the RE-404 responds by punching Century in the face. This merely angers the alien who vows to rip the robot apart.

Back on the ground, Iron Man manages to overpower Black Brigade and begins shredding his armor. Iron Man is shocked to discover that Black Brigade is nothing more than a withered old man inside a suit of armor. More surprisingly, Black Brigade has been kept on life support by his armor and with it damaged he will die until Iron Man can make the necessary repairs in time. Black Brigade figures that the American hero will leave him to die and is equally surprised when the hero begins working to save his life.

While underground, the battle between Ember and Volkvhy rages on. With the room evacuated, Scarlet Witch, US Agent and Dr. Renko try to figure out how to shut down the Project. They find the shut off switch which cuts Volkvhy off from his power supply. This allows Ember to overpower his enemy and absorb his life force, killing Volkvhy in the process. However, Irena tells the two heroes that this has happened in the past and it is only a matter of time before Volkvhy is restored and the conflict resumed until the next shift in power. The Scarlet Witch then tries to rationalize with Ember’s human host, Pavel Chenklo, and convince him to set down his power and break the endless cycle of violence. However, Ember informs them that there is nothing left of Pavel Chenklo and attacks them instead.

Back aboard the hex-ship, Century has become fed up with the Recorder’s attempts to stop him from assisting his friends. He then uses Parallax to decapitate the robot and then teleports down to Slorena. There he saves his comrades from Ember by ambushing the ancient being from behind. When Century knocks Ember into the Project machine, Spider-Woman uses her psi-webs to pin the monster to the device. US Agent then turns it on causing the life energies contained inside to begin pumping into Ember causing him to overload. The members of Force Works and Irena Renko manage to escape just moments before the entire building explodes.

Soon the atrocities committed by the Slorene government are leaked to the media. With the downfall of the government, Force Works helps with humanitarian efforts until a new temporary government is formed under the leadership of Irena Renko. Soon, Force Works are headed back home and they all believe that Slorenia has a very bright future ahead of it. Tony reports that he was able to save Black Brigade’s life and he is now in the hospital.[2] They then turn their attention to the matter of the Recorder and why the machine tried to kill them all. Century figures it’s not worth the bother now that he is destroyed. The Scarlet Witch agrees and figures they can dump the Recorder at the Vault and be done with him.

Meanwhile, at the Vault’s “Bug Eyed Monster” wing, Kalum Lo visits his fellow Kree captive Stug-Bar. He is pleased that Bar is keeping himself in physical shape as Kalum is plotting their eventual escape.[3]

Recurring Characters

Force Works (Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Spider-Woman, Century), Ember, Volkvhy, Targoth, Black Brigade, Recorder RE-404, Irena Renko, Kalum Lo, Stug-Bar, Guardsmen

Continuity Notes

In Force Works #5, the members of Force Works discovered that scholar Pavel Chenklo was transformed into the modern day Ember from a mystical triptych. However, he seemingly fell to his death shortly after this discovery. When Laslo Magzel attempted to recover the triptych in War Machine #14, Ember was reborn as a result. It is unclear if the Ember seen here is Chenklo or if the power took possession of Laslo Magzel. The only mention to Ember is in Marvel Atlas #1, which does little to clarify which is the case either.
Ember and the Black Brigade return briefly in Avengers (vol. 3) #20 where they are summarily wiped out by Ultron, seemingly for good.
Recorder RE-404 was with the Starstealth when they came to Earth to get revenge against Wonder Man and Vision. The Starstrealth were defeated in Force Works #1 and the Recorder stuck with the team ever since. It has been obsessed with raising the stakes in Force Works’ battles often tampering with equipment as seen in issues #3 and 5. In the next two issues we’ll learn that the Recorder has acted this way since its original programming was tampered with by the Kree.

Topical References

Black Brigade is referred to an operative of the former Soviet Union that remained in Slorenia after the collapse of the USSR. While references to this collapse happening recently should be considered topical, Black Birgade’s connection to the Soviets wouldn’t necessarily be deemed such. As we saw in this issue, when Black Brigade’s armor was ripped open it revealed that he is a withered old man kept alive by technology. One could assume that this process also extended his lifespan.

Vicious Circle Part 1: Into the Shadows!

War Machine has arrived in San Rivella, Central America to search for Luke Bergier, the brother of his WorldWatch colleague, Rebecca. Upon his arrival, War Machine has to fight his way through a military blockade to get into the central city. The tanks and guns are prove to be no match for War Machine’s weapons.

Switching out of his armor, Jim Rhodes finds Luke Bergier at a field hospital. He learns that Luke is in the region as a freelance photographer and was covering the civil war that is raging in the country. He explains that he was injured and his fiancée Cindy was killed during an attack by the resistance group known as the Shadows. During the attack, the Shadows treated soldiers and refugees alike leading to a slaughter. Jim agrees to look into the Shadows and takes Luke’s camera which has photos of the attack.

He takes the photos back to his motel room where Jim runs them through a Stark computer to try and enhance the pictures. Unfortunately, they are blurry and out of focus but he sees a familiar figure with the Shadows but can’t quite bring himself to believe who it is.

As War Machine is making these revelations, US Agent gets a call from the Commission with a mission of vital national importance. Although the Agent no longer works for them, they impress upon him that this mission is of the highest importance compelling him to accept the job.

Back in San Rivella, War Machine manages to hack into the Shadow’s com channels and learns that they are going to strike a government fuel dump and decides to intercept them there. On the scene, War Machine takes out one of the Shadows with phasing powers before he is ambushed by two other members named Sundance and Striker.

At that same moment, at the central government headquarters, the Advisor has hired two cyborg operatives named Hazzerd and Trouble-Shooter to deal with the Shadows. They are introduced to and told to follow the orders of US Agent while in the field.

Back at the scene of the battle, War Machine is able to incapacitate both Striker and Sundance. That’s when he sees someone lurking behind some fuel barrels obscured by smoke. Heading off to confront this third combatant, War Machine confirms his suspicions: The Shadows are being assisted by Hawkeye!

… This story continues in War Machine #15.