Now

The New Avengers — Captain America (Bucky Barnes), Luke Cage, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), and Wolverine (Logan) — have broken into the Cube, headquarters of the Thunderbolts. Fighting their way past Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady) and Paladin, they get to the chamber where the team has been holding their teammate, Iron Fist (Danny Rand), prisoner. However, when they free Danny, he begins attacking them. He single handedly kills all of the Avengers except for his old friend Luke Cage. Fighting his brainwashing, Danny asks Luke to help him. Cage responds breaking Iron Fist’s neck.[1]

However, this battle is all a delusion in the mind of Iron Fist himself. Rand really has been captured by Norman Osborn and is being mentally conditioned by the Thunderbolt known only as the Ghost. Osborn is furious because he needs to make Iron Fist a loyal minion and can’t do that until the powerful martial artist is loyal to nobody but him. He tells the Ghost that if they cannot bend Rand to their will, he may as well be dead.

Two Days Earlier

At the Rand Corporation, Danny Rand is called into a meeting under the pretense that he is meeting with an important investor. This “investor” turns out to be none other than Norman Osborn, the Director of HAMMER. He has set a trap for Rand who is ambushed from behind by Mister X and Scourge (Frank Simpson) of the Thunderbolts. Danny evades their attacks and tries to hit Norman Osborn with a jump kick. This is stopped by the Ghost, who phases up through the boardroom table and grabs Rand’s leg then carries him outside and drops him from many stories up. However, rather than fall to his death, Rand is slammed into a window by the Headsman (Clevon Twain) on his glider, knocking the martial artist out. With Rand in their custody, Osborn orders a HAMMER operative to kill everyone who knows Rand was at this meeting.

Now

The Thunderbolts — Scourge, Ghost, Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady), Headsman, Mister X, and Paladin — are eating lunch in the commissary. O’Grady tries to liven things up by talking about a reality TV show that is popular. Mister X gets tired of his blather and threatens to cut his tongue out. Getting annoyed, X then dumps his food in the trash and leaves, warning Eric that there is nothing people hate worse than a nerd. When Iron Fist comes down to join the others for dinner, everyone but Eric gets up and leaves. Eric tries to strike up conversation with Iron Fist as well, but after a few minutes of listening, Rand gets up and tosses his food in the trash and leaves as well.

The next day in Harlem, Luke Cage is at a diner waiting to meet up with Danny Rand. However, Danny is running late which is out of character. Cage is busy shooting down the waitress that is hitting on him when he suddenly gets a phone call.[2] It’s actually a phone call from Ant-Man, who reveals that he was hiding in Cage’s pancakes and is in his stomach. He threatens to resume his normal size and rip him apart from the inside out. However, he only is creating a distraction so Paladin can sneak up behind him. The mercenary shoots Luke at the base of the neck with a disruptor ray. This only causes Cage to collapse for a few seconds. He shakes off the effects and hits Paladin hard enough to send him crashing out into the streets. Going outside, Luke is ambushed from above by Scourge and Mister X. However, his bullet proof skin makes him able to shrug off their attacks and stop them cold. That’s when Iron Fist arrives on the scene and rather than help Luke, Fist knocks him out instead.

Returning to the Cube, the Ghost and Iron Fist report to Norman Osborn to inform him that the mission went off without a hitch, even though Ant-Man is still trapped inside Luke Cage’s body.Osborn has been setting up dominoes all over the room and in the center of this display is a folder marked “Project: Luke Cage”. This makes the Ghost believe that Osborn was after Cage for something more than just petty revenge.[3]

At that moment, Luke Cage has woken up to find himself shackled in a chair with Paladin standing guard. With Cage awake, Paladin turns the security camera away and frees Luke so he can get away, asking Cage to make it look like he broke free on his own. When the alarms go off, the Ghost, Mister X, and Iron Fist are sent to try and recapture Luke. Climbing into the ventilation system, Mister X ends up face first with three pumpkin bombs which blow up. The Ghost reports this back to Osborn, who orders Luke Cage recaptured immediately.

Meanwhile, Luke comes out of the vents in the kitchen. That’s when a voice radios him and tells him that a vent that will take him out of the Cube will open in five minutes and will stay open for 20 seconds, that’s all the time they can give without raising suspicions. Cage follows the service ducts to the exit, pushing his way through the various automated defenses. He also fights his way past Scourge, the Headsman before running into Iron Fist. Once again, Danny seemingly beats Luke into unconsciousness. When the other Thunderbolts arrive, it turns out that Cage was only playing possum. Iron Fist had since used his chi to purge his brainwashing and the two beat the others and then chase after the Ghost. However, before they catch up to him, they are suddenly teleported away, much to their surprise.

Later, Osborn calls a meeting and reveals that his “Project: Luke Cage” file was a plant to ferret out an intruder in their midst. However, when nobody fesses up he vows to catch the traitor and storms out. Soon most of the rest of the team leave, with only the Ghost and Paladin remaining in the meeting room. As it turns out, they both helped Cage escape. The Ghost tells Paladin that the file wasn’t a ruse and that Osborn was trying to find a way to brainwash the heroes against him so he could use them to replace the Thunderbolts.

Meanwhile, back in Harlem, Luke and Danny have gone out for their interrupted meal together. Cage went into the bathroom to deal with an upset stomach, unaware that he was shitting out Ant-Man. Danny assures Luke that he is fine after his brainwashing and there is nothing to worry about.[4] The two then talk about their experience, and while they don’t know who was responsible for saving them, it shows that there are cracks in Norman Osborn’s empire.

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Scourge, Headsman, Mister X, Ant-Man, Ghost, Paladin), Norman Osborn, Iron Fist, Luke Cage

Continuity Notes

1. Danny and Luke have been friends for years ever since Iron Fist help clear Cage’s name for a crime he did not commit back in Power Man #48-49.

2. At the time of this story, Luke Cage has been married to Jessica Jones since New Avengers Annual #1.

3. The Ghost mentioned how Luke Cage helped put Osborn in jail, that happened in The Pulse #1-5. Also mentioned is how Cage went to Osborn to help rescue his daughter who was kidnapped in Secret Invasion #8. Thanks to Norman’s info, Luke was able to save his baby from the Skrulls in New Avengers #48. This was in exchange for Luke owing Norman a favor. However, Cage reneged on this deal in the following issue.

4. Iron Fist recounts the time he used his chi to cure himself of cancer. Danny got cancer from being exposed to radiation in Power Man and Iron Fist #115-117. It was later revealed that his chi purged him of his illness in Namor the Sub-Mariner #22.

Topical References

• Eric O’Grady mocks Paladin for having a reality TV show recorded on his TiVo. TiVo is a brand of DVR, a device that digitally records television. They were at the height of their popularity when this comic came out in 2009, due to the fact that they did not require any physical media to record programming and you could set it to record your favorite shows. This should be considered a topical reference as TiVo is a real world brand.

• O’Grady suggests that he and Danny hang out and listen to the Dave Matthews Band. Reference to this group could be considered topical as you could replace them with a more contemporary group.

• When Luke Cage tries to turn down the waitress hitting on him, he shows her his wedding ring. She brushes it off, saying that remaining faithful in to a marriage is old fashioned in he culturally enlightened year of 2009. The use of that year in this conversation should be considered topical as it is relative to the date of publication.

• The voice talking to Cage calls himself the “Great Gazoo”, this in reference to a character that appeared in the animated sitcom The Flintstones. First appearing in 1965, Gazoo was an alien from space that had magical powers. This should be considered a topical reference as a more contemporary example can be used in its place.