Faith in Monsters, Part 5

In Phoenix, Arizona, the fate of three unregistered superhumans are about to becoming intrinsically linked.[1] American Eagle (Jason Strongbow) is riding into town from the local Navajo Reservation. He is heading into town to ask Steel Spider (Ollie Osnick) to lay off his people. Lastly, we have Sepulchre (Jillian Woods) who is heading for a job interview with Roxxon about working security overseas.

Their lives are about to get turned upside down because the Thunderbolts are being dispatched to bring in Steel Spider for refusing to register with the government. Osnick becomes aware of this when he spots the Thunderbolts’ UAVs arriving in the skies above. He decides that his mentor, Peter Parker the amazing Spider-Man, would fight them and decides not to run.[2]

That’s when American Eagle arrives to come talk to him. Steel Spider accuses him of calling the Thunderbolts on him because he is an unregistered hero. Jason tries to assure Osnick that he has only come to ask him to stop roughing up his people because people are out looking to lynch him. None of this is heard by the Steel Spider, who is convinced that American Eagle sold him out. He is worried about being killed and replaced by a government hero, like what happened with Jack Flag.[3] Strongbow tries to talk sense, but realizes that Ollie is not working with a full deck. Steel Spider demands to know whose side he is on just as the Thunderbolts arrive on the scene.

As the team — consisting of Moonstone (Karla Sofen), Songbird (Melissa Gold), Radioactive Man (Chen Lu), Swordsman (Andreas Von Strucker), Venom (Mac Gargan), and Penance (Robbie Baldwin) — deploy from the Zeus, American Eagle decides to show Steel Spider he is not with them by attacking. Firing an arrow from his crossbow, it manages to go through Moonstone’s wrist. When Venom lands on the rooftop with them, Steel Spider shoots him in the face with his gun, causing Gargan to fall off the roof. He’s joined seconds later when American Eagle is blasted over the edge by Songbird. This leaves Steel Spider alone against Radioactive Man and the Swordsman. After spraying Chen with acid that eats through his radiation suit, Steel Spider is also knocked off the roof.

Meanwhile, Venom has recovered form his fall and begins violently tossing innocent bystanders out of his way in order to rejoin the battle. This is in front of Jillian Woods, who is forced to change into Sepulchre and attack Venom in order to save innocent lives. At that same time, Ollie is being pursued by the Swordsman but slams him through a wall. As Songbird and Radioactive Man fly to the ground, they decide to do things their own way since Moonstone isn’t there to command them. Melissa say decides that they should only go after Steel Spider since he is the only one they were ordered to capture.

Not far away, the Thunderbolt’s back-up military unit is giving first aid to Moonstone. She is so furious over being injured, she orders the cloaking team to deploy Bullseye to find and cripple American Eagle.

At that same moment, Sepulchre’s attacks are doing very little against Venom. Luckily, American Eagle arrives to lend her a hand. After they fight Gargan off, the two agree to high tail it out of there. However, before they can Steel Spider arrives just as the rest of the Thunderbolts begin surrounding them.

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Norman Osborn, Songbird, Moonstone, Radioactive Man, Swordsman, Venom, Penance, Bullseye), Steel Spider, American Eagle, Sepulchre

Continuity Notes

1. This story takes place after the passage of the SHRA, in Civil War #1. It requires all superhumans to register with the government or be considered outlaws. The Thunderbolts have been charged with apprehending those opposing registration since Thunderbolts #110. This law will remain in place until Siege #4.

2. At the time of this story, Peter Parker had just recently revealed his true identity to the world in Civil War #2/Amazing Spider-Man #533, hence why Ollie knows Peter’s true identity. However, the world at large will be made to forget Peter’s identity following the events of Amazing Spider-Man #545. Thanks to a magic spell, Ollie will know that Spider-Man revealed his true identity during the Civil War, but will no longer remember his real name.

3. Jack Flag was taken down by the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #111.

The Initiative Reading Order

Civil War: The Initiative #1, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Thunderbolts #112, 113, 114, 115, Omega Flight #1-5, Moon Knight (vol. 3) #13, Captain America (vol. 5) #26, 27, 28, 29, 30, New Avengers #27, 28, 29, 30, 31, New Warriors (vol. 4) #1-8, Black Panther (vol. 4) #27, 28, 29, 30, Iron Man: Agent of SHIELD #15, 16, 17, 18, Avengers: The Initiative #1, 2, 3, Fantastic Four #547, 548, 549, 550, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #6-11, Mighty Avengers #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sub-Mariner (vol. 2) #1-6, The Order (vol. 2) 1-4, Penance: Relentless #1, 2, 3, 4, 5