Title Page
by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
Synopsis: In Wakanda, Mr. Fantastic has approached the Black Panther about getting his cooperation with the Registration Act. Panther refuses, preferring to stay out of American politics, and advises Fantastic to contact his wife. In Greenwich Village, Yellowjacket and the Wasp search for Dr. Strange, but Wong tells them that he will not even consider supporting Iron Man, and that he has gone into seclusion. In Westchester, Stark himself requests the X-Men’s help, but Emma Frost refuses, saying that the Stamford incident reminds her of the destruction of Genosha, where the Avengers failed to assist. Emma tells him that they will stay put, not joining either side, but as Stark leaves, Bishop stops him asking to talk.
At a diner, Captain America, Hercules, Daredevil and Goliath go over the new secret identities Nick Fury has set them up with. As they go over the unmasking of Spider-Man and Cap laments about a missed appointment due to this whole thing, Goliath gets a distress signal. The four duck into an alley and change into costume. At the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Johnny Storm stumbles out of his room and asks for the whereabouts of his sister.
Cap’s team arrives at Geffen-Meyer Chemicals where a fire is raging, but Cable reports that he’s not picking up any panic signals. He calls out that it’s a trap upon seeing that the plant is a division of Stark Industries, but Cloak and Wiccan are dropped by tranquilizers, preventing a teleportation escape. Cap and Iron Man begin conversing over the situation, with Iron Man offering them amnesty. Cap agrees to listen for five minutes, but as the two shake hands, Cap puts a device on Iron Man’s hand, shorting out his armor. The two groups begin fighting, but SHIELD agents circling the site hold off involvement, saying ‘Project Lighting’ is forthcoming. Iron Man reboots his armor and begins demolishing Cap. As Hercules rushes to his aid, he’s felled by a huge bolt of lightning, as are Luke Cage, Dagger and the Young Avenger Hawkeye.
The others look to the sky in shock – Thor has just joined the battle.
Review: I have this neat little habit of flipping through comics before I sit down to read them, and it usually brings me to the last page before I actually get through the book. For some reason, I didn’t do that with this one, and the final page – a full page picture of Thor raising Mjolnir above his head – floored me. I was not expecting him at all. With the Black Panther segment at the beginning of the issue I had though ‘Project Lightning’ would possibly be Storm or maybe even something lame like the Living Lightning. Thor was not expected. Such a reaction is going to keep me from flipping ahead in future books.
This issue was the inevitable hero vs. hero fight, and it took place at least an issue earlier than I thought it would. The setup for the battle – Iron Man’s team leading Cap’s team into an ambush – seemed a bit weak to me. In a SHIELD base, with someone like Cable on their team, surely they would have seen that the place was a Stark plant, and let the registered heroes take care of it. They may be the rebel faction, but they’re not stupid. Also, sending both teleporters onto the scene without getting a fix on the place? It just seemed forced.
With Black Panther’s advice to Reed, Human Torch’s appearance and Invisible Woman’s appearance in the background of the confrontation, I have a feeling that she’ll be a factor in Cap’s squad getting away from this situation. I’d like to see more heroes on either side, though. Hasn’t the original Hawkeye been running around since House of M ended?
I restate that Steve McNiven was a fantastic choice for art on this event. His pencils are powerful and they fit right in with this story. This is a crossover I like. Unlike House of M, there’s a definite feel that things are going to change in the Marvel Universe because of this. And unlike DC’s Infinite Crisis, you don’t have to have a three figured body count to make it happen.