The Trust, Part 5

This story occurs concurrently with the events of Mighty Avengers #8…

After learning how the Hood’s Gang was going to use a Deathlok cyborg to attack Avengers Tower, the New Avengers — Luke Cage, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Wolverine (Logan), Iron Fist (Danny Rand), Echo (Maya Lopez), Ronin (Clint Barton), and Doctor (Stephen) Strange — went to prevent this even though they could be arrested.[1] However, as they arrived in Midtown Manhattan they witnessed locals being warmed by a horde of alien symbiotes.[2]

As they get closer to the carnage, Luke Cage witnesses in horror as his teammates are forcibly bonded with some of the symbiotes. As Cage fends off his friends, he wonders why he was the only one who wasn’t possessed by these creatures. He is then beaten into unconsciousness.

Luke wakes up later among Iron Man (Tony Stark)’s Avengers team, which includes the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), the Black Widow (Natasha Romanov), Wonder Man (Simon Williams), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Ares, and the Sentry (Bob Reynolds). Luke found himself fighting side-by-side with those who have been trying to arrest him. In the end, all of the symbiotes left their hosts and merged into a single unified entity and in the end, Iron Man whipped up a device to take them all down.

That evening, Luke is in bed, relating this story to his wife, Jessica Jones. He tells her that the reason why the symbiotes couldn’t possess him was due to the fact that they invade a host through the pores of their skin. Since Luke’s super dense skin has no pores, they couldn’t invade his body. He also learned that this was an intentional attack on the city. However, he doesn’t know who was responsible for this biological attack.[4] Jessica is glad that Luke is safe, but with the fear that there are Skrulls hidden everywhere, she admits that she is scared and doesn’t want to live in Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum anymore.[5] That’s when Jessica realizes that Iron Man’s team didn’t arrest the New Avengers once the crisis was over and asks what happened.

Luke continues his story, saying that once the symbiotes were all destroyed, his team and Iron Man’s team worked together to help the innocent people who were affected by the invasion. Nobody said anything to anyone else on either team about the divisions between the two. For their part, the New Avengers were upset to see that Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) had joined up with Tony’s crew after she left them.[6] This was because she went to Tony Stark about the Skrull they found. This gets them talking about a possible invasion and how they can’t trust anyone even though Doctor Strange has used his magic to prove the intention and character of everyone on the team.[7] This is because they can’t be sure that Strange isn’t a Skrull and was merely covering up for the fact. He changes the subject by telling Jessica that Wolverine is going to have words with Spider-Woman about her defection.

Meanwhile, at Avengers Tower, Iron Man’s team are preparing to strike back against Doctor Doom, who was responsible for the “Venom Bomb” dropped in New York.[8] Having an hour to get ready, Spider-Woman heads to her quarters to take a shower. This is when Wolverine gets the drop on her. He demands that she tell him what Stark did when she brought the Skrull to him. She says he freaked out and that she didn’t give up the team. In fact, Tony is more concerned about a Skrull invasion than he is bringing the New Avengers in. When Logan asks whose side she is on, she tells him that she is on the side of the human race and the only person she can trust to not be a Skrull is herself (riiiight). Wolverine then tells her that the reason the New Avengers came to the Tower was to warn them that the Hood was sending a Deathlok after them. Jessica tells him that their concern is a moot point now if he turns on a TV. That’s when they are interrupted by the Black Widow, prompting Logan to leap through the window to escape. He is caught in midair by Spider-Man who was waiting to pull Logan out if he was discovered.

The pair rendezvous with the rest of the team and they learn how the Hood’s gang used the Deathlok to rob a bank in New Jersey instead. When they arrive, they see the police carring out the broken remains of the Deathlok they used in the heist.[9] When Echo asks why they are here, Wolverine explains that his investigation into the Skrulls led him to uncovering the Hood’s schemes and that’s the only lead they got. Logan then gets the scent of their target and leads the New Avengers to a Chinese restaurant that is a front for the Hood’s operation. Doctor Strange then casts a spell that allows them to see who is inside. They see the Hood and members of his gang counting their stolen money. Seeing that the Wrecking Crew is among the members of the gang, Ronin suggests that they are out of their depths.[10] Strange says that its time to call for back-up.

As the Hood and his gang catch the news about the Venom Bomb unleashed on the city, Luke Cage smashes his way into the hideout. Behind him is an army of superheroes from both Avengers teams, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, the Punisher, Silver Surfer, even Howard the Duck![11]

Featured Characters

New Avengers (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Echo, Ronin, Doctor Strange), Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Wasp, Black Widow, Wonder Man, Ms. Marvel, “Spider-Woman”, Ares, Sentry), Hood’s Gang (The Hood, John King, Chemistro, Madame Masque Wrecking Crew (Bulldozer, Pildedriver, Thunderball), the Wizard) Deathlok (remains), Jessica Jones, Dani Cage, Lindy Lee, “Edwin Jarvis”

Continuity Notes

1. This was two issues ago. The New Avengers are currently outlaws following the passage of the Super Human Registration Act. See Civil War #1-7.

2. See Mighty Avengers #7-8 for the flipside of these events. In issue #8 we will learn that this “Venom Bomb” was the work of Doctor Doom.

3. Cage recognizes the symbiotes as being similar to Spider-Man’s foe Venom, who has been a Spider-Man antagonist since Amazing Spider-Man #299. This alien race is later identified as the Klyntar in Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 3) #23.

4. Again, it was Doctor Doom, who will be brought to justice by Iron Man’s team in Mighty Avengers #9-11.

5. The New Avengers discovered that the Skrulls are planning something when it was uncovered that one of them was posing as Elektra, leader of the Hand cult in New Avengers #31. This is all part of a planned invasion of Earth, as we’ll see in Secret Invasion #1-8.

6. Spider-Woman left the New Avengers to tell Tony Stark about the Skrull they found as we saw in New Avengers #32. She joined up with his team in Mighty Avengers #6. This is not Jessica Drew either, but a Skrull spy named Veranke, as we’ll learn in Secret Invasion #3. Per New Avengers #42, she took the real Spider-Woman’s place in Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.

7. Doctor Strange used his magic to determine how trustworthy each team is twice already. This was in New Avengers #30 and 34. In Secret Invasion we’ll learn that the only Skrull among the New Avengers was “Spider-Woman”.

8. The man who appears to be Jarvis is another Skrull spy, as we’ll learn in Secret Invasion #1. He took the place of the real Jarvis prior to New Avengers #1.

9. The Hood’s gang stole the Deathlok in New Avengers #33 and used it last issue. This is actually a robot duplicate of Deathlok and not any other cyborgs who have carried that mantle, per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3.

10. Luke mentions how it took the entire team to take down the Wrecker. That was in New Avengers #7-8.

11. As we’ll learn next issue, these are illusions cast by Doctor Strange.

Topical References

• Spider-Man refers to Doctor Strange’s calming spell as “Magic Lexapro”. This is the brand name for an antidepressant known as Escitalopram. Its use here should be considered topical.

• The amount of money in the bank hit by the Hood’s Gang is estimated at 10 billion dollars in 2007 money. This amount would be considered topical as it is relative to the period in which this story was published.