In Atlantis, Invisible Woman tries to persuade Namor to join Captain America’s side for the final battle. Namor tells her that the only thing that mattered was the death of Namorita, which was dealt with. He refuses to aide, and chastises Captain America for sending Invisible Woman in light of their ‘unique relationship’. In Captain America’s base, Falcon reports that along with Namor’s refusal, Wolverine is remaining neutral with the X-Men and Dr. Strange is unavailable. However, Black Panther and Storm are willing to assist. Cap begins a briefing, showing plans of the 42 complex. With the other side planning an attack using SHIELD and the Thunderbolts, Cap decides tonight will be their final chance to free the heroes from the complex. Spider-Man turns down Cap’s offer to sit out because of his injuries, saying they need all the help they can get. Diamondback takes the opportunity to introduce the villains Goldbug and Plunderer, who offer their aide. Before they can finish, both are gunned down by the Punisher, who is quickly decked by Cap. When Punisher refuses to fight back, Cap throws him out.

In Stamford, the mother of one of the lost children reassures Tony Stark and Reed Richards of their actions. In Dr. Strange’s sanctuary in the North Pole, the meditating sorcerer is approached by Uatu the Watcher, who questions his inactivity. Strange says he is meditating for the victory that is best for mankind and will spill the least amount of blood.

At the 42 gate in the Ryker’s Island penitentiary, the SHIELD guards are brought down by the invading heroes. Spider-Man stops them as his spider sense goes nuts, signaling the arrival of Iron Man’s heroes and villains. Iron Man tells Captain America that he’s walked into another trap, as he’s had a mole in the Secret Avengers for over a week. Cap replies that he’s known all about Tigra and reveals a spy of his own. Yellowjacket unmasks, and changes back into the Hulkling. Mr. Fantastic realizes that with Hank Pym’s voice and retinal patterns, they’ve had full authority to the complex. The captured heroes emerge and join Cap’s side, ready to begin the battle.

Review: Actually a pretty slow issue until the final pages which had me cursing the ungodly slow schedule that this book is following. The setup is there – all players ready to go. Let’s have the battle! Oh, no, we have to wait over a month for the final issue! It really is unfair. As for the story, this was the tie-down issue. All the loose little pieces were tied down to complete the story, so all we need out of the last issue is a big battle and something of a resolution. Turns out Cap’s not as gullible as we thought, as his placing of Hulkling in the enemy’s camp worked much better than them planting Tigra. By taking the place of one of the big three (Yellowjacket, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic), it gave perfect access to anything they needed. With Hank’s depression following the death of Bill Foster, it gave an excuse for uncharacteristic behavior. Good stuff.

The battle scene excited me as well. Steve McNiven did an excellent job putting in the faces that needed to be there. Having Bishop on the pro-registration side was something I particularly liked, as it tied in the otherwise forgettable Civil War: X-Men and places a potential spat between him and former respected leader Storm. Oh, if you’re looking on what happened to the Punisher, check out Punisher: War Journal. I highly recommend it.

Not too much else to say on this one besides the next issue can’t come out fast enough. But don’t worry, they’re not going to try to make it either.