Civil War continues from Heroes for Hire (vol. 2)….

In the middle of the superhuman civil war, the Young Avengers — Patriot (Eli Bradley), Hulkling (Teddy Altman), Wiccan (Billy Kaplan), Stature (Cassie Lang), Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), the Vision, and Speed (Tommy Shephard) — have travelled to California to help the Runaways — Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes, Victor Mancha, Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Xavin and Old Lace — as they are on the run from SHIELD for being unregistered.[1] However, as the two teams were making peace with one another they are attacked by Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr), who is being mind controlled by the warden who runs the Cube prison.[2] In his opening salvo, Noh-Varr snaps Xavin’s neck, seemingly killing them.[3]

For Marvel Boy, he has entered a state called White Space, a state of mind that removes all distraction so he can focus on a single role. In this case, he is following orders to kill all of the superhumans in his vicinity. In a matter of five seconds he has incapacitated Karolina, Hulkling, and Wiccan. That’s when the Vision tries to stop him by solidifying his hand in Noh-Varr’s chest. However, the Kree warrior ignores the pain and manages to pull away with enough force to rip the Vision’s arm off at the elbow, leaving the phased limb imbedded in his chest. He then lands on the ground near the wounded Victor Mancha who is finally conscious after being damaged by a SHIELD missile.[4] However, before he can harm the injured cyborg, Stature comes up behind him and boots Marvel Boy over the horizon with one massive kick.

Aboard an air transport above the battle, the warden of the Cube monitors the situation on the ground. He had not expected the Young Avengers to be there and this changes his plans. He orders his men to pretend like they are unable to get in touch with their handlers at SHIELD so the warden can do whatever he pleases with this new development. Particularly since four of the combatants on the ground are identified as extraterrestrial in origin and therefor free for the warden to arrest and torture indefinitely back at the Cube.

Back on the ground, the warden orders Noh-Varr to get back in the game and he rushes back to the scene. There he catches Stature and Patriot off guard, slamming them into a hear by tree. When Hawkeye tries to hit him with a knock-out arrow, Noh quickly moves out of the way causing it to strike Cassie, making her go down for the count. While everyone else is busy dealing with Marvel Boy, the warden manages to extract Karolina, Xavin, Hulkling, and Wiccan from the scene. Eager to run tests on his new subjects, the warden resigns to extracting Noh-Varr from the scene as well. In doing so, he inadvertedly saves Nico from death. As the warden’s plane heads back to the Cube, he orders his men to make excuses to SHIELD Director Maria Hill who is trying to get in touch with him. That’s when one of his crew informs them that, for whatever reason, they cannot remove the arm lodged in Marvel Boy’s chest.

Back on the ground, Nico casts a spell to wake everyone up and they are quickly brought up to speed on the situation. As everyone recovers from the battle, Speed returns after running off to play with Molly. This angers Chase because their friends were captured while the two were goofing off and he scolds Molly for not growing up to his liking. When they ask Patriot what they should do next, he refuses to go running to Captain America for help. Instead, they’ll have the Vision trace the people who captured their friends so they can teach them a lesson. The Runaways are eager to join up with them on this rescue mission, particularly Chase who doesn’t want to see another member of his team die.[5]

Later, the warden is back at the Cube with his prisoners. As he prepares to to cut them open and see what makes them tick, he muses about how — as a child — he always wanted to find a place where he could hide and do whatever he wanted. He found his dream when he became warden of the Cube because of its top secret status and that its inmates are all aliens with no legal status in the United States, allowing him to do whatever he wants with them. Picking some tools off his cart, he then decides to get started and makes his way to where the captured Avenges and Runaways are strung upsidedown.

… Civil War continues in Civil War: Front Line #6.

Recurring Characters

Young Avengers (Patriot, Hulkling, Wiccan, Stature, Hawkeye, Vision, Speed), Runaways (Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes, Victor Mancha, Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Xavin, Old Lace), Marvel Boy

Continuity Notes

1. The SHRA is a law that requires superhumans to register with the government. It came into power after a superhuman conflict claimed hundreds of lives in Stamford, Connecticut, see Civil War #1-3. It will remain a law until Siege #4.

2. Marvel Boy has been imprisoned at the Cube since Marvel Boy (vol. 2) #1-6.

3. That happened last issue. Skrulls are notoriously hard to kill and Xavin’s injuries will have healed next issue.

4. Victor Mancha was injured in issue #1 of this limited series, and was the motivating factor for the Young Avengers to come looking for the Runaways.

5. At the time of this story, Runaway founder Gert Yorkes was fatally stabbed in Runaways (vol. 2) #18. She will be resurrected in Runaways (vol. 5) #1.

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, 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