Ronin, Part 3

The New Avengers — Captain America (Steve Rogers), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Luke Cage, Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew),[1] and Ronin — had come to Japan to recapture the Silver Samurai (Keniuchio Harada) after he broke out of the Raft.[2] There, they discovered that the Hand and Hydra were seeking to have him take control of the Yoshida Clan. Having just incapacitated Madame Hydra (aka the Viper), they are now confronted by the Silver Samurai himself.

However, Harada doesn’t want to fight, and wishes to seek answers. Particularly since he was kidnapped from a private plane by SHIELD agents before being locked up at the Raft with no trail. Cap tells Harada that they are also investigating what is going on with SHIELD, and hope that by speaking with one another they can figure out what this conspiracy is all about and who is pulling the strings.[3] The members of the Hand don’t know why the Samurai is talking to the Americans but try to get him to attack. Instead, Ken kills them all. With more ninjas on the way, Iron Man repulses them with a massive concussion blast so they can speak with the Samurai.

Before they can get to talking, Luke Cage strikes the Silver Samurai, as he is still pissed that he was thrown off the roof of Tony’s penthouse in their earlier clash with the Hand. Cage is also fed up with the conspiracy and thinks that Harada is lying about what he knows. Keniuchio defends his innocence by comparing his incarceration to what Luke’s own time in prison.[4] Steve apologizes and asks Harada to tell them what happened.

The Samurai accuses the United States for kidnapping him and putting him in the Raft. Cap disagrees, saying that this was the work of rogue elements within SHIELD. Ignoring this, Ken goes on to say that he didn’t even know where he was until the breakout and he quickly arranged to flee America. He then tells them that he was picked up by members of the Hand who had claimed to be an envoy sent by the Prime Minister of Japan. It wasn’t until he arrived as his ancestral home that he discovered that both the Hand and Hydra wanted him to resume his old role as leader of the Yoshida clan, claiming that both SHIELD and Hydra are rotten from within. He then asks Spider-Woman knows about that. Jessica retorts by saying that they are still trying to figure it out.[5]

When Iron Man asks Harada what he plans on doing, the Silver Samurai says that he has no choice but to rejoin his family clan because his hand was forced in the matter. He also tells them that the reason why he doesn’t move ahead with a plan of turning the Yoshida Clan into something horrific is because of his father’s name. However, he warns the Avengers that if their government continues to come after him, then all bets are off. Captain America once again reiterates that it was SHIELD, not the United States, and this leads to a tense moment of silence between the two men.

With the Japanese authorities on the way, Harada tells them that he is going to take full credit for defeating the Hand and then make a lot of noise about his incarceration to the press. Jessica, for her part, refuses to leave without Viper as a prisoner since she is a wanted terrorist and she is a SHIELD agent. Ken can tell that there is some kind of history going on between the two.

The New Avengers then fly back home in the Quinjet. Along the way Peter figures that this mission would have been over in minutes if the Sentry had gone with them. Cap tells Spidey that the Sentry is not ready for field work just yet.[6] Iron Man reports that the Silver Samurai is being true to his word, which frustrates Captain America. He wonders if they should go public about the incident in the Savage Land. Tony says that they should keep that quiet when the go public, something they have to do since the Sentry’s Watchtower materialized on the roof of their headquarters.

In the back, while Viper makes intense eye contact with Spider-Woman, both Spider-Man and Luke Cage try to figure out who Ronan really is. However, Ronin will not say and Cap tells them to drop the subject.[7] As this is happening, the Viper is silently instructing Spider-Woman to hit emergency override on the hatch door. After making sure she is not being observed, Jessica pushes the button. However, that it at the exact moment that Captain America is getting up to go into the rear of the Quinjet. This causes him to get sucked out of the ship along with Viper.

Horrified by what she has done, Spider-Woman leaps out after them and pushes herself to reach Cap. While she manages to catch him, their combined weight are too much for her to go very far with her flying ability. Luckily, they are rescued by Iron Man who has flown down to rescue them. Once they are back on board the Quinjet, Captain America makes sure everyone is ok, and they all try to figure out how Viper managed to get away like that.[8] While it seems that Jessica got away with it, she does get suspicious looks from both Ronin and Captain America.

When the Avengers arrive at Stark Tower, Ronin talks to Captain America and says that they will be returning to Japan. Partially to keep an eye on the Silver Samurai to make sure he doesn’t give in to pressure, but also to investigate Elektra who is now leading the Hand.[9] They will be able to do this for the Avengers but independent of them. When Iron Man finally asks who Ronin is, they take off their mask revealing themselves to be Maya Lopez, aka the former assassin known as Echo.

The following morning, Jessica Drew is in the kitchen eating breakfast. She is joined by Steve Rogers and after some small talk he gets right to the point: He wants to know who Jessica is working for.[10]

Recurring Characters

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

Continuity Notes

1. The woman who appears to be Spider-Woman is actually a Skrull spy named Vernake. She has infiltrated the team as part of a planned invasion of Earth that will take place in Secret Invasion #1-8. Her true identity is revealed in Secret Invasion #3. As we’ll learn in New Avengers #42, she took the place of the real Jessica Drew circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.

2. The breakout at the Raft occurred in New Avengers #1-2. This is all part of a Skrull invasion of Earth. The breakout was to allow the alien invaders to infiltrate organized crime. See New Avengers #27-32.

3. As seen in New Avengers #1-6, the team investigated the breakout and it led them to the Savage Land. There they discovered rogue SHIELD agents illegally mining Vibranium. However, these operatives were all killed before they could be interrogated. The New Avengers have been low key trying to figure out what’s been going on ever since. This is also another component of the coming Skrull invasion.

4. Luke Cage was once framed for a crime he did not commit, as seen in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1. After getting his powers in a prison experiment, Luke broke out of jail and was on the run from the law for a time. He was ultimately able to get evidence to finally clear his name in Power Man and Iron Fist #50.

5. Spider-Woman and Silver Samurai know each other on a more personal level following the events of Spider-Woman #43-44. A story in which Viper claimed to be Jessica’s biological mother. This was later revealed to be hoax in Captain America #281.

6. The Avengers recently recruit the Sentry on their team, however he is recovering from a recent mental break. See New Avengers #7-10.

7. When Spider-Man complains about not being able to get to take his mask off and get some shut-eye, Luke jokes that there aren’t any people left who haven’t seen him without his mask. This is a joke referring to New Avengers #1-2 where, during the breakout at the Raft, Peter had his mask yanked off. At the time of this story there are very few people that are aware of Peter’s double life. The list of living people who know Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the same person at the time of this story includes:

   • Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, who has known Peter is Spider-Man since Amazing Spider-Man #39.

   • The Jackal (Miles Warren) has known Peter’s double life due to his cloning experiments, as told in Amazing Spider-Man #149.

   • Peter revealed his identity to the Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) during the period they were dating, as seen in Spectacular Spider-Man #87.

   • Daredevil (Matt Murdock) has known Peter’s true identity since Spectacular Spider-Man #110.

   • Wolverine (Logan) has known thanks to his ability to recognize scents, as seen in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1.

   • In a similar fashion, the Puma (Thomas Fireheart) also knows Peter’s identity, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #257.

   • Obviously his wife, Mary Jane, has known Peter’s true identity since the very beginning but didn’t reveal that she knew the truth until Amazing Spider-Man #257-258.

   • His Aunt May also knows Peter’s secret, having learned it in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #35.

   • Captain America revealed that he knew Spider-Man’s identity when he approached him to join up with the team in New Avengers #2. Pretty much all of the New Avengers who didn’t already know Peter’s true identity, are assumed to have learned it after this point.

   • That all said, all memory of Peter’s true identity will be erased from the minds of all of these people following the events of Amazing Spider-Man #545. Some of the people in this list will be reminded, but most others will forget (including the ones I forgot to include on this list, because you know, I’m not entirely sure if it is exhaustive or not).

8. In particular, Captain America checks on a man they think is the Avengers butler, Edwin Jarvis. However, this is another Skrull impostor as we’ll learn in Secret Invasion #1. The Skrull took Jarvis’ place just prior to the events of New Avengers #1.

9. Elektra is shown to be leading the Hand in Daredevil (vol. 2) #77-80. However, this is actually a Skrull spy named Pagon who took her place, as will be revealed in New Avengers #31. Per Mighty Avengers #16, Pagon took the real Elektra’s place prior to the events of New Avengers #1.

10. Was waiting until the end of this story to get into the nitty gritty about Spider-Woman’s situation. 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

• The Silver Samurai states that the Prime Minister of Japan is Junichiro Koizumi. IRL, Koizumi held the position from 2001 to 2006. As such, this reference should be considered topical.

• When trying to guess who Ronan is, Spider-Man suggests that they might be Alan Derschowitz. Derschowitz is a high powered lawyer best known for representing OJ Simpson during his murder trial in the 1990s. He would go on to represent just the scummiest people on the planet including Jeffrey Epstein (ick), Harvey Weinstein (double ick), and Donald Trump (triple ick). Being born in 1938, one hopes that he doesn’t have many more years left to represent America’s monsters. That said, he is a real world person and you could replace him with a more contemporary example, no shortage of rich lawyers who represent total garbage as clients out there. There’s a surplus.