Ronin, Part 2

15 Minutes Ago

Kenuichio Harada (the Silver Samurai) had arrived in Japan after being freed from the Raft prison.[1] This is in order to have him reclaim leadership of the Yoshida Clan on behalf of the Hand. Due to the past friction between his family clan and the Hand, their representatives present Harada with his armor and sword as a peace offering. They are also joined by Harada’s long time associate, Madame Hydra (aka the Viper). She also arranged for Harada to be freed from prison after hearing how SHIELD abducted him from a private plane and incarcerated him in America. She tells him that SHIELD has gone rotten and only Hydra can put a stop to them. She then kisses Ken,[2] but he pulls away from her and demands to know what is going on and why they want from him.

Before he can get answers, they are interrupted by one of the Hand ninjas who tells them that a masked intruder had been caught on the property. Harada can already tell that these are American heroes come to take him back into custody and asks which heroes are after him.

Now

The intruder turned out to be the mysterious Ronin, who fled back to their teammates the New Avengers — Captain America (Steve Rogers), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Luke Cage, and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) — who are waiting at a building owned by Stark Enterprises along with the Avengers butler, Edwin Jarvis.[3] Unfortunately, Ronin was followed back and seriously wounded by Hand ninjas sent to eliminate them all.

While Iron Man carries Jarvis away to safety, the rest of the team lays into the ninja invaders. Throughout the fight, Spider-Man annoys his teammates by constantly making quips — something he can’t help when fighting mostly silent ninjas. The team is slowly being swarmed when Iron Man comes back and tries to clear the penthouse balcony with a concussion blast. However, before he can pull this off, a group of ninjas shove pile onto Luke Cage, sending them all falling off the penthouse roof to the street below. This distracts Stark long enough for a ninja to strike a weak point in his armor with their sword.

Back at the Yoshida Clan Fortress, Ken wants to know why his was apprehended and held against his will by SHIELD. Madame Hydra figures that SHIELD wanted to either control of kill the Silver Samurai due to his standing in the criminal underworld. Hydra, in turn, wants Harada back in control of his clan and to use the Hand as his army in a coming war against the people behind SHIELD. When Keniuchio asks who that is, Viper won’t say until she is certain that she can trust him again. Things are more dire as the influence that is rotting SHIELD is also rotting Hydra, and she needs Ken and his connections to fight back against this. That’s when they are interrupted once more with a report. One of the ninjas states tells them that they followed the intruder back to their base of operations and engaged the heroes there. This infuriates Madame Hydra because they did so against their orders.

Meanwhile, Luke Cage survived his fall from the roof and is now patiently taking the elevator back up to the penthouse to rejoin the fight. Once he rejoins the battle, he is happy to hear that Spider-Man has run out of jokes because the battle has been going on too long.[4] Iron Man has also managed to repair the damage to his armor to try another concussion blast. However, before he can employ this weapon, the Hand ninjas suddenly retreat. Iron Man figures that they were ordered to retreat. Recovering from the attack, Ronin tells them that the only reason why they were given that order is because they attacked without permission. Luke Cage wants to know who Ronin really is, but they don’t answer. That’s when Peter notices that Jessica has disappeared.

This is because Spider-Woman has flown to the Yoshida compound to meet with Madame Hydra. Viper is furious to learn that Jessica is in Japan without telling Hydra. She reminds Drew that she owes them because they restored her powers.[5] Jessica apologizes for not warning Viper ahead of time because the Avengers move so quickly she hardly had time. The Hydra leader has no room for excuses and tells Jessica to take her down with a venom blast on her word because the Avengers followed her. Looking over her shoulder, Jessica sees the Avengers Quinjet arriving on the scene. She does what she is told and hits Viper with her venom blast.

When her teammates arrive, Captain America demands to know why Jessica went off on her own. Spider-Woman tells Steve that SHIELD has been after Viper for a long time and was sick of her always getting away. When questioned about what they were talking about, Jessica tells a half truth, saying that Viper called her fat and was about to attack. Cap, seemingly fooled by this, reminds Jessica that they are a team and need to work together. Before they can haul Madame Hydra away, they are confronted by the Silver Samurai!

Recurring Characters

New Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, “Spider-Woman”, Ronin), Hydra (Madame Hydra/Viper), The Hand, Silver Samurai, “Edwin Jarvis”

Continuity Notes

1. This jailbreak occurred in New Avengers #1-2. Last issue we discovered that the Silver Samurai was one of the escapees and why. What’s not revealed is that this is all part of a plan by the Skrulls to infiltrate Eastern criminal organizations, as will be revealed in New Avengers #27-31. This is ahead of a Skrull invasion of Earth that will take place in Secret Invasion #1-8.

2. The Silver Samurai and Viper have had a long association that dates back to Marvel Team-Up #83. A partnership that, at times, was romantic.

3. There are impostors and secret identities abound in this story, lets get into who everyone is:

   • Ronin is the mysterious new member of the Avengers who joined up last issue. Although they appear to be male, they are actually female. The true identity of Ronin is revealed to be Maya Lopez (aka Echo) in New Avengers #13.

   • The woman who appears to be Spider-Woman is actually a Skrull spy named Veranke sent to infiltrate the team ahead of a Skrull invasion of Earth in Secret Invasion #1-8. Her true identity is revealed in issue #3 of that series. Per New Avengers #40, Veranke took the place of the real Jessica Drew circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.

   • Likewise, the man who appears to be Jarvis here is also a Skrull, per Secret Invasion #1. He took the place of the real Jarvis just prior to New Avengers #1.

4. One of Spider-Man’s quips is that Doctor Doom hasn’t washed his cape since the Kree/Skrull War, which took place in Avengers #89-97. Per the Sliding Timescale, it has been roughly 9 years between the Kree/Skrull War and this story.

5. Jessica Drew’s powers had been on the blink since Avengers #241. Recently, she had been approached by Hydra who offered to restore her powers in exchange for her spying on SHIELD, as seen in Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1. In New Avengers #14 we learn that she is actually a double agent working for Nick Fury, spying on Hydra for SHIELD while she spies on SHIELD for Hydra. What nobody knows is that she was replaced with a Skrull during this period.

Topical References

• When Luke Cage is riding the elevator, it is playing the song “Break my Stride” a song by musician Matthew Wilder. The song was originally released in 1983. This wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference because the song is considered a pop classic and has been covered countless times. Also, elevators tend to play dated music anyway. But hey, it could also be considered topical as you could replace it with a more contemporary song that would match the scene and it wouldn’t matter.