Title Page
by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
Synopsis: In New York, Human Torch and Invisible Woman escape SHIELD agents and fly away. At Stark Tower, two former anti-registration heroes, Nighthawk and Stature, meet with Happy Hogan to join Iron Man’s forces. Happy tells them that Iron Man wanted to personally welcome them, but is running uncharacteristically late. Upstairs, Iron Man is confronting Spider-Man, who is trying to leave. They argue about locking heroes in the Negative Zone, as well as the death of Goliath. When Iron Man questions the safety of Aunt May and Mary Jane, Spider-Man punches him. He dodges Iron Man’s retaliatory blasts, but bounces off the reinforced glass when he tries to escape out the window. SHIELD agents bust in and open fire, breaking the window and allowing Spider-Man’s escape.
SHIELD Director Hill denies Iron Man’s request to go after him and instead sends out several of the villainous Thunderbolts to track him down. In the sewers, Spider-Man comes across a small figure which explodes in front of him as Jester and Jack ‘O Lantern appear – the latter spraying a gas into his face. Jester hits him with two more bombs, but the SHIELD agents overseeing the mission prevent them from doing further damage. As they hold him, both villains are suddenly killed by shots to the head. Spider-Man, still drugged from the gas, refers to the gunman as “Skull-Face Guy.”
On 32nd street, Human Torch and Invisible Woman have changed into their secret identities and sneak into Captain America’s hidden base. The heroes report that Cloak and Dagger have both been arrested, which staggers Cap’s plans to raid the Baxter Building. As the heroes debate their options, the Punisher arrives carrying the badly wounded Spider-Man, demanding a medic. As they take care of Spider-Man, Punisher tells the heroes that he’s joining their side since the pro-registration heroes have enlisted thieves and murderers. Punisher reveals that he’s been the ski mask-clad figure covering their backs over the past weeks, and mentions that he has the necessary skills to get them into the Baxter Building. As the heroes argue, Cap considers their options. In the other room, Tigra sticks to the shadows, making a call on a Stark phone.
In Hell’s Kitchen, Mr. Fantastic and She-Hulk watch as Daredevil is carted away. Mr. Fantastic laments over the events, citing Hank Pym’s recent reliance on anti-depressants and his own wife leaving him. She-Hulk tries to comfort him with all the good they’ve been doing for their public image. On Ryker’s Island, Tony Stark leads Daredevil through the portal into the 42 prison in the Negative Zone. He tells Daredevil of their plans for the future, and asks if they can talk about some kind of arrangement. The guards tell him that he has said very little since his arrest, but they found something under his tongue that he said he had been saving for Stark. Tony questions about the item, a silver dollar, and Daredevil retorts “Guess that’s thirty-one pieces of silver you’ve got now, huh? Sleep well, Judas.”
Review: A much slower-paced issue than the action-packed scenes we saw in the previous two issues. However, a lot has transpired since the last issue. With Cloak now gone, along with Wiccan last issue, Cap’s team no longer has any means of teleportation. Makes you wonder how Cloak was nailed to begin with. With Punisher joining the ranks of Cap’s team, the lines slightly blur as far as good and bad goes. Of course, it’s not nearly to the extent that the opposing side’s has. Jester and Jack O’ Lantern were clearly overstepping their bounds in their tactics against Spider-Man, but who can really get angry at two headshot wound victims? More death means more important, right? It is the Punisher, though. I guess that’s right.
This issue threw me a little bit as far as Iron Man’s tactics go. Spider-Man decided to leave the Avengers due to the death of Goliath and the 42 prison. He didn’t say that he would be joining the opposition, yet he was still attacked when he tried to leave. The same problem came up in a recent issue of New Avengers, when Luke Cage was approached as soon as the Registration Act went into effect and again when Wonder Man was called on for a SHIELD mission even though he was not interested. Are heroes not even allowed to quietly retire? Is it SHIELD or jail? That makes things a tad more favorable for Cap’s side…which is the right side, after all. Spider-Man’s desertion also makes his unmasking into a huge mistake, rather than the symbolic gesture it was originally supposed to be. Now he has troubles. If I read Spider-Man books, I’d be excited, but alas…
Looks like we’re gearing up for the final battle, perhaps at the Baxter Building, since it looks like Iron Man will know that Cap’s coming. More deaths have been promised, and hopefully we’ll get a decent ending, rather than an open-ended story that will eventually be swept under the rug because no one wants to deal with it (cough*cough*198*cough). Unlike House of M, though, this story feels important, beginning to end. Let’s hope it stays that way.