Swimming with Sharks

Following the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA), an ever escalating war in the superhuman community has been taking place.[1] As the war rages, Baron (Helmut) Zemo, leader of the Thunderbolts, has been playing both sides to amass a supervillain army to meet a threat posed by the Grandmaster and the Squadron Sinister.[2]

Zemo has come to his old foe Captain America (Steve Rogers), leader of the heroes opposing the SHRA. They meet at an abandoned warehouse to talk, but upon his arrival, Zemo is attacked by three of Cap’s followers: Daredevil, the Falcon, and Hercules.[3] Helmut is able to hold them off with the power of his two Moon Stones. However, Cap orders Redwing — Falcon’s faithful pet — to steal them. However, Zemo no longer needs to be in close contact with the gem to use them and, seeing that the fight won’t end unless he stops it, uses its power to teleport his attackers to New Jersey.

However, Captain America still wants to fight, so Zemo uses the stones power to make his shield too heavy to carry and then pins him to the wall so they can talk. When asking Rogers about how his position on the SHRA conflict tells him. Cap responds that it proves to him that the government has lost their way. He also believes that Helmut is using this opportunity to play some kind of game. Opening a portal through time and space, Zemo shows Steve images from their last encounter where Zemo jumped into the path of an energy blast, risking his life to save Captain America and asks if that was a game. Steve isn’t certain, so Zemo takes off his mask revealing his horribly scarred face. He tells Cap to look him in the eyes and tell him that condemning himself to this for a second time was part of some kind of game.[4]

Meanwhile, Songbirld (Melissa Gold) leaves Zemo’s Folding Castle to go to a seedy bar somewhere in Manhattan. After ordering herself a drink she is met by Dallas Riordan of the Department of Homeland Security. She shows Melissa a dossier that contains plans for Tony Stark’s 50-State Initiative. Their current plans are to set Melissa up with a team in Colorado. However, this goal is contingent on Songbird dealing with Baron Zemo after the threat he is preparing for has been dealt with.[5]

At that moment, Mach-IV (Abner Jenkins), Fixer (Norbert Ebersol), and Joystick (Janice Yanizeski) have been dispatched to Bellington, Washington to capture the villain known as Iron Maiden. She is in the area trying to secure a fake ID and sneak into Canada. As the team works to take Iron Maiden down, Mach-IV thinks about how — a few years prior — it would have been them trying to do this, and admits that he is conflicted about being used by the government to take down supervillains. Norbert on the other hand, doesn’t see a problem with this at all as trying to fix a world that has seemingly turned upside down creates an interesting challenge for him.

Back in New York City, Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond) returns to the penthouse apartment of Alice Nugent (aka Doctor Spectrum) to check in with the rest of the Squadron Sinister. When he arrives he finds Spectrum, Hyperion, Speed Demon (James Sanders) and the Grandmaster (En Dwi Gast) waiting for him. Kyle has joined up with Captain America’s resistance movement as a mole of sorts since the current superhero civil war could benefit Baron Zemo in preventing them from securing the Wellspring of Power.[6] Speed Demon is uninterested in any of this, all he wants is revenge against Joystick for breaking both of his legs.[7] The Grandmaster promises Sanders that he will restore Speed Demon’s powers once they have secured the Wellspring of Power. Hearing this, Nighthawk realizes that he has backed himself into a corner making where he is going to have to determine which megalomaniac he is comfortable giving ultimate power.[8]

While at the Baxter Building, Radioactive Man (Chen Lu) continues to assist Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) and Yellowjacket (Hank Pym)[9] in constructing a portal to a superhuman prison they are building in the Negative Zone.[10] As they work, Chen brings up how ironic this situation is. When Richards and Pym have no idea what he is talking about, Lu points out how the heroes have always opposed him and his homeland of China based on their political differences. He then says that they are working to use the current climate to create policies that are very similar to those of his home. Reed gets defensive, but Chen points out that they are building all of this technology to apprehend and imprison Captain America and dares them to say it out loud and then say his statements have no merit. As anticipated, Richards and Pym are speechless, proving his point.

Back at the secret meeting between Baron Zemo and Captain America, Helmut continues to convince Steve Rogers that he has no evil intent. He replays the moments of their last encounter, reminding Cap how the Avengers invaded the Thunderbolts headquarters to stop them from activating their Liberator device — a weapon that would have made war obsolete.[11] When Moonstone turned on them and was about to blast Captain America, Zemo leaped in the way, horribly scarring himself in the process. Zemo asks Steve to explain what kind of ulterior motive he would have had in doing so. When Rogers has no answer, Helmut suggests that perhaps there was none and that he was merely doing the right thing.

Seeing that this is doing little to convince Rogers, Zemo uses his Moon Stones to pull up other images to convince Steve of his changes. He tells Cap that the only way he could change as a person and become a better man was to accept the the wrongs that his family was responsible for. He pulls up images of when his father killed Captain America’s wartime partner, Bucky.[12] A more recent instance was when Zemo orchestrated an attack on Avengers Mansion, severely injuring their butler and destroying all of Cap’s personal items from the war.[13] Zemo then goes on to say that he had to go through a transformative process to realize the errors of his way. It all started when the assassin Scourge (Jack Monroe), came to assassinate him.[14] The attack lead to Zemo’s being physically killed and all of his personal effects — celebrating the achievements of the Zemo family — were destroyed in the process. He likens the convoluted way in which he was later resurrection as being akin to Captain America being frozen in ice for decades prior to his revival in the present day.[15]

Zemo concludes that it led him to later save Captain America’s life to prove that he was better than himself. He then tells Cap that there will come a time when he and his renegades are arrested and incarcerated in the new prison that the government is building and has come to offer him a means of escaping. Steve at least knows that there is some kind of catch. Helmut then tells Rogers that he hopes to enlist the rogue heroes aid when he finally goes up against the Grandmaster. Steve knew that there was some kind of ulterior motive and accuses Zemo of challenging En Dwi Gast. Helmut denies this, saying that the Grandmaster challenged him instead.

They are about to come to blows until Zemo uses his Moon Stones to make Cap’s old footlocker appear before them. This was destroyed during the siege on Avengers Mansion years earlier and Cap is shocked to discover that everything inside is as it was before it was destroyed. This includes his original shield, photos of his family and Bucky, among other personal effects.[16] Zemo explains that with the power of the gems he was able to create a gravimetric bubble around them for a nanosecond allowing Helmut to pluck them out of time without altering the course of history. Zemo then gives him a device that will facilitate a break out at the Negative Zone prison. Upon taking it, Steve thanks Zemo, but not for all the things he has done, but for giving him hope that his current struggles are worth the cost. Zemo commends Cap for making the right decision and teleports back to his Folding Castle. Steve says that if he didn’t, he’ll be the first one to stop whatever it is Baron Zemo is up to.

When Zemo returns to his private quarters in the Folding Castle, the room is very different than how others have seen it. It is a perfect recreation of the trophy room in his old hideout, the one he claimed was destroyed by Scourge. When Melissa comes knocking at his door, Zemo uses his Moon Stones to change the room and heal his face before inviting her back in. She tells him that everything is set up with Dallas and he confirms that his meeting with Captain America was successful as well. When they talk about the future, Zemo is confident that Songbird will lead the Thunderbolts to even grater heights than ever. He also reveals that he knows that Melissa is planning on betraying him eventually, and that and his impending death are all part of his plan. She is shocked, but he tells her that he is allowing things to unfold this way because his entire life has been based on superiority and he is willing to prove it not by dying, but by living forever!

… Civil War continues in Civil War: X-Men #1.

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Baron Zemo, Songbird, Moonstone, Atlas, Mach-IV, Fixer, Radioactive Man, Joystick), Grandmaster, Squadron Sinister (Hyperion, Nighthawk, Speed Demon, Doctor Spectrum), Mister Fantastic, “Yellowjacket”, Secret Avengers (Captain America, Falcon, “Daredevil”, Hercules), Redwing

Continuity Notes

1. If it isn’t obvious yet, this story takes place during the Civil War event. The primary tale is told in Civil War #1-7 and many, many cross over issues. See below for a comprehensive list.

2. A threat we have known about since Thunderbolts #101. Zemo and his team have been recruiting villains since issue #103. The conflict with the Squadon Sinister and the Grandmaster will take place in Thunderbolts #106-108.

3. The man who appears to be Daredevil in this story isn’t actually Matt Murdock, but Daniel Rand, aka Iron Fist. Rand has been posing as Daredevil in public to distance Murdock from the war while he pursues it through legal channels in his capacity as a lawyer. This was revealed in Civil War: Choosing Sides #1.

4. Zemo’s scarred face has some history here that, starting with his father, Heinrich Zemo.

   • Heinrich was Captain America’s enemy dating back to World War II. He was maimed when Captain America ruptured a vat of his Adhesive X which permanently glued Heinrich’s mask to his face, as per Avengers #6. The elder Zemo managed to live until the Modern Age and died in a battle with Captain America in Avengers #15.

   • His son, Helmut then calling himself the Phoenix, came after Captain America years later to avenge his father’s death. That battle, which took place in Captain America #168, ended with Zemo falling into a vat of boiling Adhesive X.

   • When he resurfaced in Captain America #275, Helmut had taken over the Baron Zemo identity and we learned that his face was horribly burned from his Adhesive X bath. This would remain Zemo’s status quo for years until….

   • Zemo was seemingly killed by Scourge in Thunderbolts #39. In reality, he cheated death for a time and TL;DR (we’ll get into it below) version transferred his mind into the body of his counter-part who lived on Counter-Earth in Thunderbolts #62.

   • Lastly, Zemo surprisingly risked his life to save Captain America from Moonstone in Avengers/Thunderbolts #5, scarring his face once more. However, as we’ve seen in Thunderbolts #101, Zemo has used the power of the Moon Stones to restore his face but has been keeping this a secret to mostly everyone as part of a psychological game to convince heroes to help him in his current mission.

5. This is yet another reference to Thunderbolts #101, where we learned that Melissa is only pretending to go along with Zemo’s plans and becoming his lover in order to kill him once the threat posed by the Grandmaster has been dealt with. Indeed the Thunderbolts will become the team representing Colorado in the 50-State Initiative, but they still get screwed over in the end, see Thunderbolts #109-110.

6. Nighthawk has been seen among Captain America’s forces in Civil War #4.

7. Joystick broke Speed Demon’s legs in Thunderbolts #102, the poor baby.

8. Nighthawk initially joined up with the Thunderbolts and opposed the Squadron Sinister in New Thunderbolts #15-16. However, he quit the team in Thunderbolts #101 when he learned that they only really wanted him on because of his ability to finance the team, something that was made redundant once they agreed to let Zemo rejoin them. Richmond then switched side in Thunderbolts #102.

9. This is not the real Hank Pym but a Skrull subversive who took his place circa House of M #5, as will be revealed in Mighty Avengers #17. This was in advance of a Skrull invasion of Earth which will be told in Secret Invasion #1-7.

10. This is Prison 42, which will be unveiled for the first time in Civil War: Front Line #5.

11. The imbroglio between the Avengers and Thunderbolts over the Liberator took place in Avengers/Thunderbolts #1-6.

12. Baron Zemo refers to Captain America’s wartime partner Bucky as having died in 1945. This was the long standing status quo since Avengers #4. However, readers had just recently found out that Bucky had been alive for years as revealed in Captain America (vol. 5) #1-14. However, at this time, the world at large is unaware that Bucky is still alive so clearly Zemo doesn’t know the truth here.

13. Zemo also references the time he and the Masters of Evil staged a siege on Avengers Mansion which took place in Avengers #273-277. Jarvis was badly beaten and Cap’s stuff gets trashed in issue #275 specifically.

14. Zemo refers to Scourge as Cap’s former partner Jack Monroe. Monroe was the Bucky of the 1950s, as first seen in Young Men #24. In modern times, Monroe because Captain America’s partner for a time between Captain America #281-306 and again in Captain America #336-342. He was forced to become the new Scourge between Thunderbolts #34-50.

15. Captain America spend decades in suspended animation on the same day that Bucky allegedly died, he was revived in Avengers #4. Zemo compares this to his convoluted resurrection, which is right on the nose. Remember how I said his physical body was killed in Thunderbolts #39? Well it lived on thanks to a bio-modem and transferred into the body of John Watkins III, aka Citizen V, in Thunderbolts #45. From there he posed as Watkins until his mind was zapped out of his body and into Fixer’s tech-pack in Thunderbolts #58. It was then transferred into the body of his Counter-Earth counterpart in the aforementioned Thunderbolts #62.

16. Cap’s original triangular shield was first seen in Captain America Comics #1. He was swapped out for his trademark disc shaped shield the following issue.

Civil War Reading Order

Road to Civil War: Amazing Spider-Man #529, 530, 531, Fantastic Four #536, 537, New Avengers: Illuminati #1

Main Event: Civil War #1, She-Hulk (vol. 2) #8, Wolverine (vol. 3) #42, Amazing Spider-Man #532, Civil War: Front Line #1

Civil War #2, Thunderbolts #103, Civil War: Front Line #2, X-Factor (vol. 3) #8, New Avengers #21, Wolverine (vol. 3) #43, Amazing Spider-Man #533, Fantastic Four #538, Civil War: Front Line #3, Thunderbolts #104-105, Civil War: X-Men #1

Civil War #3, Cable & Deadpool #30, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1, Civil War: Front Line #4, X-Factor (vol. 3) #9, New Avengers #22, Wolverine (vol. 3) #44, Amazing Spider-Man #534, Fantastic Four #539, Civil War: Front Line #5, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #6, Civil War: X-Men #2, Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #1, New Avengers #23, Wolverine (vol. 3) #45, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #2, Cable & Deadpool #31, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #7, Civil War: X-Men #3

Civil War #4, Wolverine (vol. 3) #46, Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #2, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #3, Civil War: Front Line #6, Captain America (vol. 5) #22, Cable & Deadpool #32, Amazing Spider-Man #535, Civil War: Choosing Sides #1, Fantastic Four #540, Civil War: Front Line #7, Civil War: X-Men #4, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #8, Wolverine (vol. 3) #47, Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #3, Captain America (vol. 5) #23, New Avengers #24

Civil War #5, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #4, Iron Man (vol. 4) #13, New Avengers #25, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #1, Civil War: Front Line #8, Amazing Spider-Man #536, Black Panther (vol. 4) #22, Captain America (vol. 5) #24, Civil War: War Crimes #1, Civil War: Front Line #9, Iron Man (vol. 4) #14, Fantastic Four #541, Black Panther (vol. 4) #23, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #2

Civil War #6, Civil War: Front Line #10, Amazing Spider-Man #537, Fantastic Four #542, Civil War: The Return #1, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #3, Black Panther (vol. 4) #24

Civil War #7, Amazing Spider-Man #538, Civil War: Front Line #11, Black Panther (vol. 4) #25, Civil War: The Initiative #1, Iron Man: Director of SHIELD #15, Mighty Avengers #1, Captain America (vol. 5) #25, Civil War: The Confession #1, Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Fantastic Four #543-544, Avengers: The Initiative #1