The Trust, Conclusion

Deputy Director Maria Hill has just arrived aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier and learns that the recently captured members of the Hood’s Gang have just been busted out of the Raft prison.[1] Whoever sprung the Wrecking Crew, Madame Masque, Chemistro, and the Wizard used some kind of magic to do it. Seventeen SHIELD agents were killed in the break out. Hill is annoyed that magic could so easily circumvent their security and tells her team to track down the escapees.

The Hood (Parker Robbins) was responsible and he is angry that the New Avengers busted members of his crew. He decides to pay a visit to Tigra (Greer Nelson) and threatens to kill her family if she doesn’t reveal where the group is hiding out.[2] She tells them that the are hiding out in Doctor (Stephen) Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum and that they have been using some kind of magic to hide their presence there.[3] The Hood takes her at her word, but warns that if she is lying or wrong they will kill her mother.

Unaware of the threat coming their way, Jessica Jones is passing time in the Sanctum with her daughter Dani and the Night Nurse (Linda Carter). That’s when the New Avengers — Luke Cage, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Wolverine (Logan), Iron Fist (Danny Rand), Echo (Maya Lopez), Ronin (Clint Barton) and Doctor Strange — return after successfully shutting down the Hood’s Gang. As everyone goes about their business, Wolverine decides to head down to the kitchen to make himself something to eat. This is protested by Wong, Strange’s servant, who has issue with someone else using his kitchen. When he asks Stephen to say something, everyone notices there is something wrong with the Sorcerer Supreme. When Linda tries to come to his aid, he tells everyone to stop touching him. He then storms off to his study. With that Spider-Man decides to go home because he is convinced that everyone on the team are Skrulls.[4] Meanwhile, Ronin offers to help Echo with her injured arm. She resists at first until he reminds her he is a teammate trying to help.

Outside, the Hood has gathered a veritable army of villains to ambush the New Avengers. Using the demonic powers given to him through his cloak, the Hood can see that there is an illusion cast on the Sanctum Sanctorum which makes it look abandoned. As he explains this to his cohorts, Madame Masque (Whitney Frost) asks when he is going to introduce them to the demon that gives Parker his powers.[5] She presses him for answers, but they are dropped when they spot Spider-Man coming out of the building. The wall-crawler’s spider-sense begins going haywire and he loops back inside to warn his teammates that there is danger outside. Seeing this, the Hood orders his gang to attack before it is too late.

Spider-Man quickly gets inside and warns his teammates to get Doctor Strange and prepare for a fight. He then grabs Dani from his mother and tries to swing him to safety. This is just as Chenmistro uses his Alchemy Gun to shatter the mystical seal built into the Sanctum’s skylight. Jessica Jones flies after Spider-Man and takes her daughter back. The web-slinger then tells her to get to safety while he goes back to fight the invaders. While the Wrecking Crew come crashing in through the front door, the New Avengers discover the spell that hides them from view has been broken. While they scramble to respond to the attack, the Hood appears in Doctor Strange’s room and shoots him four times in the torso.

Soon an all out brawl is happening inside the Sanctum. In Strange’s bedroom, Wong leaps into action and begins fighting off the Hood. The Hood then flees, and Night Nurse checks on Stephen, who is not breathing. Outside, Jigsaw gets Jessica Jones in the sights of his sniper rifle. However, before he can pull the trigger, he is ambushed by Spider-Man. The web-slinger then joins the battle inside. After learning his daughter is safe, Luke Cage then lets loose, furious that the villains put her in jeopardy. Outside, the battle is detected by some SHIELD agents who had the Sanctum under surveillance and they report the battle to Maria Hill.

By this time, the Hood has joined his gang in the brawl happening in the main foyer of the Sanctum. He is about to shoot Iron Fist in the head when he is suddenly ambushed by Tigra who came to warn the New Avengers. As the battle carries on, both sides become more determined to stop the brawl. However, the New Avengers begin to fall one by one due to the sheer number of foes they are facing. That’s when Doctor Strange suddenly gets up, despite apparently being dead. He tells Linda and Wong to stop touching him. He then races out of his room where he casts a spell that allows the demon known as Zom to take possession of his body. He then takes out the Hood’s entire gang with a single powerful spell before changing back to normal.

Wong then takes point and casts a spell that revies the rest of the New Avengers. Recovering from his ordeal, Doctor Strange tells them that recently he has had to rely on dark forces, particularly with their recent war with the Hulk. In doing so he violated his oaths as Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. He realizes now that he has to relearn all that he has lost and can no longer help the Avengers any further. With that, Stephen teleports away.[6][7]

As the Avengers try to figure out what to do next, they are visited by Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) and her Operation: Lightning Storm team. However, she decides against arresting them since they captured all of the Hood’s gang responsible for the deaths of SHIELD agents. When Carol asks Luke where Jessica and the baby are, he tells her that they got away. She then allows them to leave to go and find her.

Elsewhere, the Hood has fled into a nearby alley where he speaks to the demon who gives him his powers. He doesn’t understand how they failed in their attack, but the demon gives him advice on how to beat them next time.

Lastly, Jessica Jones has fled to Avengers Tower. Having had enough of putting her baby at risk while being on the run, she pleads with them to let her in saying that she will register if it means making sure her baby is safe.

Recurring Characters

New Avengers (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Echo, Ronin, Doctor Strange), Hood’s Gang (The Hood, the Answer, Blackout, Blood Brother, Brother Grimm, Bushwhacker, Centurious, Chemistro, Corruptor, Crossfire, Cutthroat, Deathwatch, Doctor Demonius, Griffin, Jigsaw, Living Laser, Madame Masque, Mandrill, Purple Man, Razor-Fist, Scarecrow, Shockwave, the Slug, Vermin, Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball), the Wizard), Zom, Jessica Jones, Dani Cage, Tigra, Wong, Night Nurse, Ms. Marvel, the Sentry, SHIELD (Maria Hill)

Continuity Notes

1. The gang members were busted by the New Avengers and taken into SHIELD custody in New Avengers #37. They were busted out by the Hood.

2. The Hood previously threatened Tigra in New Avengers #34.

3. Since the passage of the Super Human Registration Act in Civil War #3, the New Avengers have been outlaws. They have been using Strange’s Sanctum as a hideout since New Avengers #28. Strange has used a spell to make them invisible to anyone who comes waltzing in.

4. The team recently uncovered the fact that Elektra, the leader of the Hand ninja cult, was actually a Skrull spy in New Avengers #31. This has made them all paranoid, fearing that Skrulls have infiltrated Earth. Their suspicions are not wrong and they will have to fight off an alien invasion in Secret Invasion #1-8.

5. In New Avengers #46 it is revealed that Parker gets his magical powers from Dormammu.

6. After being banished from Earth in Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #91, the Hulk returned months later with an alien army to get revenge on those who exiled him. This included Doctor Strange, who was seriously injured and was forced to summon the power of Zom to try and stop the Hulk. This ultimately failed. See World War Hulk #1-5.

7. From here, Strange will select Jericho Drumm (aka Brother Voodoo) to succeed him as the Sorcerer Supreme as seen in New Avengers #53.

Topical References

• The banner outside of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum announces that it is the future location of a new Starbucks. This should be considered topical as this is a real world brand.

• Spider-Man quips “We came, we saw, we stole a line from Ghostbusters.” He is referencing the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters. In the film, the character Peter Vankman (played by comedian Bill Murray) stays the line “We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!” when his team of Ghostbusters successfully captured a ghost. This wouldn’t necessarily be a topical reference as changing or generalizing the reference would also change the joke being made. Ghostbusters is considered a classic film so, there’s that.

• When asked what he thinks about Strange’s hideout, the Hood jokes that he thinks iTunes revolutionized the music industry. iTunes was an online music platform created by Apple that allows users to purchase digital music online. It came onto the market in 2001 to combat illegal music downloads and was a huge success. It did indeed revolutionize them music industry in that it allowed record companies to make money hand over fist while artists are paid peanuts, but I digress. It was pretty much the biggest music platform prior to streaming. Since the Hood is referring to an incident of historical significance it would not be considered topical necessarily. Although you could replace the comment with a more contemporary innovation.

• The truck the SHIELD agents are hiding in is advertising Oceanic Airlines. This is a fictional airline from the TV series Lost which ran from 2004 to 2010. It followed the story of airline passengers who survived a plane crash on a mysterious island. This comic was published at the height of the series popularity. That said, this is a topical reference. If I had to explain what Lost was, then you know why.