Avengers: The Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative is a comic book series from Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage with artwork initially by Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy and Harvey Tolibao, the series handles the aftermath of Marvel's "Civil War" storyline. A preview of the title was shown in Civil War: The Initiative.
Publication history
The first issue of Avengers: The Initiative was released on 4 April 2007. The tagline initially used in solicitations was "Marvel's Army of Super Heroes just became a Super Hero Army".The series was originally solicited as a six issue limited series, but prior to the publication of the first issue, Marvel announced that this had changed and that Avengers: The Initiative would become an ongoing series, the third regularly published 'Avengers' title from 2007 onwards, after New Avengers and The Mighty Avengers.
Issues #20-22 handled "Dark Reign", the aftermath to Secret Invasion, and Christos Gage moved to full writing duties.
The series was cancelled after Avengers: The Initiative #35, at the conclusion of the "Siege" storyline and replaced by Avengers Academy.
Fictional history
First recruit group
In the aftermath of the Civil War, the pro-registration side stood victorious and launched the Fifty State Initiative, which called for one S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored superhero team for each state. The series focused on the training facility at Camp Hammond in Stamford, Connecticut.The first group of young heroes has been sent to hero boot camp in Stamford, the site of the explosion that launched the whole Civil War. During the first day's training, Trauma, a shapeshifter, loses control of his power and causes Armory to have a panic attack. She accidentally shoots MVP, who was trying to save Cloud 9. Pym and Gyrich agree to conceal the death and expel Armory, but first, amputate her alien weaponry, since she will be an unregistered super. As the young heroes finish the obstacle course, Trauma loses control of his transformation again, first feeding off of Cloud 9's guilt at being responsible for MVP's death and then transforming into an image of Janet Van Dyne beaten and bloody when Hank Pym attempts to intervene. As Justice and Gauntlet clean up the situation, Pym is called to the lab where Baron Von Blitzschlag informs him and Henry Peter Gyrich of MVP's anatomy; instead of being enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum as everyone believed, he is actually an "Übermensch", the ultimate human specimen. As Blitzschlag and Gyrich laud the benefits of such a test subject, Pym again has a crisis of conscience, only enhanced when the German scientist recounts his past "villainous" acts and remarks "I am your greatest fan."
A crisis over Texas occurs involving the President and Hydra. Cloud 9, Komodo, Hardball, Gauntlet, War Machine, Justice, and Yellowjacket all arrive on the scene. Cloud 9 is revealed as the best marksman of the bunch when she receives a pulse rifle, but she feels guilty when she blows up a fighter jet and the pilot does not eject.
Hardball speaks to Komodo about Justice apparently having learned of MVP's fate. While he talks, he turns to see not Komodo but a strange girl sleeping next to him. Komodo is upset that her identity was revealed. Spider-Man battles the duo. He quickly incapacitates War Machine with a blast of webbing that shuts down his armor, but not before War Machine mysteriously states that even though Spider-Man will be stripped of his powers, another Spider-Man will exist. While Komodo fares much better, Spider-Man's wit, and a threat that her failure will cause her losing her powers, help him to defeat her and slip away easily. A mysterious third party, which War Machine calls "Red Team" and which has been cloaked during the fight, is revealed to be a group of people in duplicate versions of Tony Stark's Spider-Man armor. The story ends with Komodo's desperate plea not to be stripped of her powers, as she dislikes being normal and considers her other self to be a nobody.
World War Hulk
The recruits are ordered to stay away from the fighting, but to still help with evacuation efforts. Rage and several other recruits disobey the direct order and go to help the Avengers. They are quickly dispatched by Hulk's Warbound and imprisoned in Madison Square Garden. Gyrich fears the political fallout, so he orders his Shadow Initiative to rescue only the six missing recruits. This team comprises Bengal, Trauma, Constrictor, Mutant Zero, and the Scarlet Spiders. Hulk eventually discovers the team and Trauma attempts to access Hulk's greatest fear, but Hulk tells him he fears nothing and nearly beats him to death.During these events, Hardball is secretly recruited by Hydra to steal nanotechnology. While in disguise, he sees MVP's body cryogenically frozen, but Justice and Cloud 9 claim to have seen him at his parents’ home. Gauntlet is mysteriously attacked and can no longer train the recruits.
Second recruit group
Several new Initiative recruits arrive at Camp Hammond, including Ant-Man, Crusader, Melee, Geldoff, Dragon Lord, Geiger, Red Nine, and Diamondback. These recruits will mainly be trained by the instructor Taskmaster.The results of the previous cloning's of MVP impressed Initiative administrators enough to fill places within the Fifty State Initiative with further clones of MVP.
Killed in Action
A new clone of Michael Van Patrick is fitted with the Tactigon, Armory's former alien weapon, but goes on a rampage throughout the base under the new name "KIA", seeking revenge for MVP's death. The KIA clone causes destruction, killing Dragon Lord, Trauma and Van. KIA also caused injury to many initiative trainees and staff like Thor Girl, Gauntlet, Constrictor and Crusader. He also killed eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on his rampage. He is eventually subdued when Cloud 9 uses the knowledge of Michael Van Patrick's crush on her to kiss him and fill him with gas. The reformed New Warriors and New Avengers can subdue him and mind wipe him with a device from Baron Von Blitzschlag.First graduations
Some of the first instalment trainees made it to graduation. The graduating class and their assignments were:- Cloud 9: Montana - Freedom Force
- Hardball: Nevada - Heavy Hitters
- Thor Girl: Georgia - The Cavalry
- Komodo: Arizona - Desert Stars
- Trauma: remains on base as a counselor
- Triathlon : Hawaii -Point Men
- Ultra Girl : Georgia -The Cavalry
More recruits
Starting with issue #13, the series features new recruits that will join the squad assembled before the coming of KIA. They are: Annex, Prodigy, Gorilla Girl, Sunstreak, Batwing, and Boulder. Less enthusiastic than the first recruits, most of them with criminal records they are there because their alternative to Camp Hammond is the Negative Zone prison. Taskmaster quickly renames Boulder "Butterball" regarding his size. He has been challenged to make Butterball into a good soldier; but because of his invulnerability powers, his physical appearance could not be altered. The recruits break out of the camp because of boredom and decide to go to the beach where they drink and skinny dip, since they would be recognized anywhere else. Sunstreak attempts to have relations with Butterball, who refuses and takes their ride and heads back to the camp but encounters Constrictor, Taskmaster, War Machine and Yellowjacket. He lies, claiming to have gone AWOL alone. Although the recruits plan to use this distraction to sneak back on base, they instead help defeat Firebrand, King Cobra, Mister Hyde, and Mauler, all of whom wanted revenge on the Taskmaster. Butterball washes out of the program when it is deemed he does not have the attitude to be a superhero. To ease his disappointment, Taskmaster and Constrictor allow him to take a picture that makes it look like he has defeated them.Secret Invasion
The Revolutionary, a member of Pennsylvania's Liberteens, is actually a Skrull in disguise. He is part of a plot to put "a Skrull in every state" by infiltrating each superhero team of the Initiative. During the "Secret Invasion" storyline, Crusader discovers that camp director Yellowjacket is a Skrull impostor; he almost tells Trauma, but changes his mind. When 3-D Man arrives in Camp Hammond to announce to everyone assembled that the Initiative has been infiltrated by Skrulls, Crusader fears he will be exposed as a Skrull despite his good intentions. Crusader uses his ring to reverse the goggles' power so that they cause 3-D Man to see Crusader as human and all humans as Skrulls.'Yellowjacket-Skrull' later gives orders to Gauntlet to dispatch the cadets to help the Young Avengers fight the Skrulls, and Proton is killed during the battle. The Skrulls defeat the cadets and Young Avengers, but then Nick Fury arrives with his "commandos." Meanwhile, Ant-Man, the only cadet still on Camp Hammond, witnessed how "Yellowjacket" welcomed a Skrull commander to the base and attempts to learn of their secret plans. During the big fight against the Skrull army, Crusader fought for Earth. After defeating a Skrull imposter looking like She-Thing, 3-D Man joined up with the Skrull Kill Krew and discovered that in every Initiative state team is one Skrull-imposter and killed them all. Komodo joined the team as well, and they then added her lover, Hardball. The Skrull Kill Crew thought they could not track through all the states on time, but then former Avenger Jocasta appeared with Devil-Slayer, who is a member of the Hawaiian Initiative team, the Point Men. Devil-Slayer's teleportation ability will aid them in killing all Skrull imposters within the Fifty State Initiative.
The group move on to other Initiative bases, killing the Skrull imposters. Delroy Garrett's goggles also identify Equinox as a Skrull who is then killed by Cloud 9 who then joins their insurgency with Gravity. The Skrull then sends a broadcast throughout the world, telling their sleeper agents to activate themselves, which sows even more distrust among the remaining heroes. While in Philadelphia, the Revolutionary is revealed as a Skrull and defeated by Gravity and Hope. When they discover a fight between Thor Girl and Ultra Girl, Delroy's goggles identify Thor Girl as a Skrull. With help from Gravity, Delroy uses Thor Girl's own hammer to kill the Skrull imposter. Ant-Man escapes the Skrulls on the back of a Shock Trooper and reveals to the Kill Crew the Skrulls' last resort plan; to use all the Initiative bases to create a massive Negative Zone portal that will destroy the entire country. With six bases left, the Krew splits up, and uses the still-living heads of Moonstomp, Catwalk and Dice to help point out Skrulls. Devil-Slayer teleports them to the bases, but collapses under the strain.
The Initiative members combat their Skrull opponents who have received their mission to activate themselves to start distrust among the teams. At the Battalion's HQ, Tigra, Ryder and Cloud 9 fight a Skrull posing as Razorback. Hardball and Moonstomp help Action Pack fight a Skrull posing as Frog-Man. Gravity and Catwalk help the Great Lakes Avengers fight a Skrull posing as Grasshopper. Komodo and Riot help the Command fight a Skrull posing as Conquistador. Dice and Jocasta fight their way through activists to get to the Skrull posing as Skyhawk who succeeds in his part of the mission. Garrett and Ant-Man join the Rangers in fighting a Skrull that posed as Red Wolf's wolf companion Lobo. After it is shot by Shooting Star, a crowd uprising occurred when Delroy's goggles identify some of the crowd members as Skrulls. Delroy's goggles are hit by a thrown rock, giving Delroy's allies a complicated time understanding who's a Skrull and who is not. During the struggle, Delroy discovers he can see who is a Skrull without his goggles since the Tri-Force energy is inside him. This turns the tides against those Skrulls disguised as crowd members. During the fights across the USA, Spinner and Whiz-Kid both apparently die in various fights. At the final fight at Camp Hammond, Crusader kills Criti Noll, the Yellowjacket imposter, and then 3-D Man shoots Crusader, who disappears.