The Hood’s gang is seeking to renegotiate their deal with Norman Osborn by using a power dampening device to incapacitate both the New and Dark Avengers.[1] As Harrow negotiates with Osborn, the New Avengers struggle to get back on their feet. Ronin (Clint Barton) is desperate to expose Osborn for the criminal he truly is.[2] Spider-Man (Peter Parker) prays to God, asking to not be killed by his arch-nemesis in such a weakened state.[3] Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) is out cold. Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) comes to the realization that she like being a superhero after all, and thinks this is a lousy situation to find out.[4] Luke Cage fights through the chest pains he has been experiencing because he wants to see his daughter grow up. While Captain America (James Barnes) blames himself for what is happening.

Osborn’s team — Ms. Marvel (Karla Sofen aka Moonstone), Spider-Man (Mac Gargan aka Venom), Wolverine (Daken), Hawkeye (Bullseye), and Ares — have also been incapacitated. Stripped of his Iron Patriot armor, Norman finds himself surrounded by the Hood’s gang. Taking command of the situation the Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite) reiterates their offer: In exchange for the power dampener and the New Avengers, the gang wants the same level of immunity from the law that Osborn has given their leader the Hood (Parker Robbins). Norman refuses to negotiate until his armor is reactivated. The villains comply and the Iron Patriot armor reforms around Osborn. He is put back in communication with Jonas Harrow, the mastermind of this scheme. Jonas sweetens the pot by also offering to reveal all the secrets about Norman’s stolen suit of Iron Man armor. After a moments consideration, Norman agrees to their terms as long as the gang helps them take the New Avengers into custody.

The power dampener is then taken off Osborn and his team and he decides his first order of business is to have his Spider-Man kill and eat the real wall-crawler. However, before this can happen Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse, the only one unaffected by the dampener) arrives in the Quinjet. Knocking the evil Avengers out, she orders her team to get off their asses and get aboard the ship. The team scrambles onto the Quinjet, but Spider-Man doubles back to take some shots on Osborn before joining the others in the retreat. Thanks to the cloaking device on the Quinjet, the New Avengers manage to make good their escape, or so it seems. When Daken recovers from the dampener he tells the others that he got the other Avengers scents and he can now track them.

Meanwhile, in Cuba, Loki has brought the now powerless Hood to a new source of magic, the Norn Stones.[5] The trickster god tells Parker that the power from the stones will manifest however he chooses. His partner, Madame Masque (Whitney Frost) doesn’t like this, but Robbins insists that he needs this. Channeling the power of the Norn Stone through one of his pistols, Parker fires a magical bullet that blows open the side of the church where they found the stones. He is suitably impressed.

At the same time, the New Avengers have rushed Luke Cage to the Night Nurse (Linda Carter), who specializes in treating superhuman injuries.[6] After hearing what happened and examining Luke, she tells the New Avengers that Luke’s dense skin is impossible to cut through. Their only option for saving his life is to steal back the power dampener so they can turn off his powers to perform surgery. Ms. Marvel is telling the team what they need when Norman Osborn and his team arrives outside the clinic. Iron Patriot orders them to stand down and the New Avengers decide to fight. As Osborn begins counting down, Luke manages to get up. He tells the team to make a run for it while he surrenders to Norman since this is the only way that he can get the medical attention he needs. The rest of the group reluctantly does as they are told and Luke goes outside. As Norman puts him under arrest, Cage collapses to the ground.

Recurring Characters

New Avengers (Ronin, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Captain America, Mockingbird), Dark Avengers (Iron Patriot, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Ares), Hood’s Gang (The Hood, Blackout, Blood Brothers, Brothers Grimm, Chemistro, Crossfire, Cutthroad, Deathwatch, Doctor Demonicus, Griffin, Jonas Harrow, Living Laser, Madame Masque, Mandrill, Mentallo, Razor-Fist, Scarecrow, Shockwave, Slug, Tiger Shark, Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball), Loki, HAMMER

Continuity Notes

1. They did this using a power dampener that was destroyed in New Avengers #50. It was reverse engineered by Harrow in issue #55. This story occurs on the heels of Secret Invasion #8, where Norman Osborn landed the role of America’s top cop after he killed the leader of a Skrull invasion of Earth. He entered into a pact with the Cabal, a secret group of villains seeking to shape the world to suit their needs. Among those at the table was the Hood.

2. Clint asks himself what Steve Rogers (aka the original Captain America) would do. At the time of this story, everyone believes Steve was killed by an assassin in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. In reality he was shot with a chronal bullet and has been living his life in a constant loop. He will be freed from this purgatory in Captain America: Reborn #1-6.

3. Spider-Man’s most infamous foe is the Green Goblin (aka Norman Osborn), with their first encounter dating back to Amazing Spider-Man #14.

4. Jessica has been doubting herself recently because she was replaced by Veranke the Skrull leader as part of their invasion. As revealed in New Avengers #42 this happened circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1. She was freed in Secret Invasion #8, and since her stolen identity was the face of the invasion she considered hanging it all up.

5. Loki appears here in female form is a bit complicated to explain. He and the other Asgardians were recently killed off in Ragnarok in Thor (vol. 2) #80-85. He was brought back when Thor return in Thor (vol. 3) #1, but in female form in issue #5 of that series. It is later revealed in Thor (vol. 3) #8 that Loki had stolen the physical form of Sif, trapping her in the body of a dying woman named Rose Chambers. She will be freed from this trap in Thor #602.

6. Here, Clint mentions that Night Nurse is in a relationship with Doctor Strange. We learned this in New Avengers #34.