Force Works #16
Traitor’s Gate
The Crossing continues from Avengers: The Crossing #1…
Spider-Woman and Moonraker, aka Julia Carpenter and Slade Trueman, are on a mission in Nantucket hunting down a group of creatures called DAEMONS. While the creatures have the drop on them, the pair hold them off just long enough for Iron Man to arrive and give them cover.
However, this isn’t an actual battle but a virtual reality simulation in the Works’ Vroom Room training facility. Having passed the set objectives ends the simulation and Spider-Woman and Moonraker celebrate with a kiss. This is interrupted by Fisher Todd walking in on the couple, which makes things awkward since Fisher has feelings for Julia. However, this situation is breezed over since Fisher has had six months to get used to the fact that Spider-Woman and Moonraker are in a relationship and he’s made peace with it.[1]
Julia and Slade then head into the kitchen to make some food. As they discuss how easy going Fisher has been since they got together neither of them notice that they set the orange juice out twice. After cracking some eggs to make some amulets, the subject changes to how a bunch of the team went to New York for an Avengers reunion.[2] When Slade admits that he misses US Agent, Julia turns around to make sure this is some kind of joke. It is, since he misses tormenting the Agent rather than missing his presence. When Julia turns back to her mixing bowls she sees that the eggs haven’t been cracked yet and is confused because she could have sworn she cracked them a moment ago.
Meanwhile, US Agent and Scarlet Witch are making their way back to the Works in their newest hex-ship the Chimera. US Agent finds the ship to run smooth and is suggesting that they put it in regular rotation when he notices that Wanda is lost in thought. She tells him that she was just thinking how nice the reunion was and even how civil Iron Man was at the gathering, which has been a nice change from their recent bickering.[3] US Agent on the other hand wasn’t very impressed with things as he still has issues with the way they shut down the west coast branch of the team.[4] He also expresses how much he doesn’t really like Tony Stark and Wanda reminds him that Stark can’t be that bad if he picked US Agent to be part of Force Works. That’s when US Agent brings up the secret sub-basement at headquarters that Tony hasn’t mentioned to anybody. Wanda dismisses this, telling him not to see everything as some sinister plot. However, the mention of the sub-basement reminds Wanda of how Century recently left the team and how she wishes she could have said goodbye before he left.[5] With the team teleporter gone, they’re also going to have to rethink their strategies moving forward.
As the Scarlet Witch and US Agent return to base, Iron Man arrives at one of his homes on the Pacific coast. Once inside he gets a call from Suzie Endo, one of his employees at the Hong Kong branch of Stark Enterprises. She is calling in to confirm that she will be on the next flight to Los Angeles.[6] He then checks his messages and finds that he has missed calls from his secretary Bambi Arbogast, Erica Sondheim, government agent Henry Gyrich, three calls from Bethany Cabe, and a from the Scarlet Witch. He erases them all and puts a call from Sondheim.
While in deep space, Century prevents Skewer from killing the Broker, his former slave master. He reminds Skewer that they need the Broker alive in order to decrypt the navigation records and get all of his former slaves back home. Skewer realizes he acted rashly and leaves, but the experience has made Century realize that perhaps embarking on this mission was a bad idea after all. Regardless, he is committed to it now and there is no turning back as he is beyond the point of no return.
Back on Earth, Julia Carpenter returns to the apartment she shares with her daughter Rachel. She was given a bouquets of roses from Slade and is putting them in a vase when the Scarlet Witch and US Agent return. They are joined by Slade and they catch up on what went on at the Avengers reunion. Everyone particularly has fun ribbing US Agent for losing at poker to Jarvis, the Avengers butler. That’s when Julia notices that the flowers she clipped and put in a vase are now back in the bundle like nothing happened. This time she knows for sure she did it and starts freaking out. As Slade calms Julia down, Rachel asks the Scarlet Witch who the man is with her mother. Wanda reminds Rachel that Slade is her mother’s boyfriend which comes as a total shock as Rachel has never seen Slade Trueman before in her life.
… This story continues in Iron Man #320.
Recurring Characters
Force Works (Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Spider-Woman, “Moonraker”), Fisher Todd, Amanda Chaney, Rachel Carpenter, Suzie Endo, Century, Broker, Skewer
Continuity Notes
No you absolutely did not miss any issues of Force Works, this is Moonraker’s first appearance. In Force Works #19, it is revealed that Moonraker is secretly Gustav Brandt, aka Libra of the criminal Zodiac in the body of a counterpart from another reality. He was planted within Force Works by the Priests of Pama to stop Kang and Mantis from taking over the present day. This whole “Moonraker’s been here for six months” thing was part of the way to sneak him onto the team without anyone noticing. This is then later revealed to all be part of a massive deception. Moonraker is actually a Space Phantom in disguise and the entire Crossing event was a hoax created by Immortus to manipulate the destiny of the Avengers. This is all revealed in Avengers Forever #8.
The Avengers reunion occurred in Avengers: The Crossing #1. Scarlet Witch and US Agent were in attendance.
When Iron Man formed Force Works in Force Works #1, he picked Wanda to be leader. However, Tony has been overstepping her authority since issue #5 leading to bickering between the two.
US Agent had been a part of the Avengers West Coast since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #44. He was unhappy when it was decided that the west coast team was shut down in Avengers West Coast #102.
US Agent and Century discovered the secret sub-basement last issue when the Works was invaded by the Broker and his slaves. Century left Earth in the same issue to try and learn the mysteries of his past. He left before the rest of the Force Works could be freed from stasis pods. After learning the truth about his past in Century: Distant Sons #1, Century will return to Earth in Force Works #19.
Suzie Endo will arrive in America in Iron Man #321.
Topical References
When trying to get Wanda’s attention US Agent pretends their hex-ship is breaking up. He beings speaking in the affectation of actor James Doohan used in his role of Montgomery Scott on the original Star Trek. The impression has become part of the zeitgeist whenever someone makes a joke about “engine troubles”. You could consider this a topical reference since Doohan died in 2005 and his character has been played by others since (notably, Simon Pegg as of this writing).
The Crossing Reading Order
Avengers #390, Iron Man #319, Avengers: The Crossing #1, Force Works #16, Iron Man #320, Avengers #391, Iron Man #321, Force Works #17, Avengers #392, War Machine #20, Iron Man #322, Force Works #18, War Machine #21, Iron Man #323, Avengers #393, Force Works #19, War Machine #22, Iron Man #324, Force Works #20, War Machine #23, Avengers #394, Avengers: Timeslide #1, Iron Man #325, Avengers #395, Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1