Civil War: The Initiative #1

Oct 17

Oct 17 Civil War: The Initiative #1

Civil War continues from Fantastic Four #544…

The superhero civil war is over and Iron Man (Tony Stark) is the victor.[1] As he flies back to Avengers Tower he gets a series of reports in the field.

The first is that Weapon Alpha, aka Michael Potter is ready. The video attached was transmitted from Ottawa, Canada, where he has been incarcerated since his capture.[2] He is greeted by Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) of the Fantastic Four. Reed does a quickly medical evaluation and leaves.

Then enters Walter Langkowski, who asks Michael if Xorn is inside his mind.[3] Michael doesn’t know what he is talked about and is shown the footage of how he — as the Collective — murdered the Canadian superhero team known as Alpha Flight.

Michael is horrified to watch it all over again and is forced to recount what happened. That he was possessed by the collective energies of de-powered mutants. He deeply regrets what happens and wishes that he could do something to atone for what he has done.

That’s when Walter transforms into the Sasquatch, revealing that he was the lone survivor on that horrible day. He informs Michael that he will be put to work to redeem himself. Reed Richards has modified a suit once worn by Heather and James Hudson to control Michael’s mutant powers. He will then serve on Omega Flight along with the Sasquatch, Arachne (Julia Carpenter), Beta Ray Bill, Tailsman (Elizabeth Twoyoungmen), and US Agent (John Walker).[4]

The next report comes in from New York, where a new cyborg named Hurricane, an unregistered hero, who is on the run from the authorities. He has only been active for about 9 months and three days.[5] He is ambushed by the Thunderbolts — Bullseye, Moonstone (Karla Sofen), Penance (Robbie Baldwin), Radioactive Man (Chen Lu), Songbird (Melissa Gold), Swordsman (Andreas Von Strucker), and Venom (Mac Gargan) — brutal and unrelenting, the Thunderbolts quickly overpower and apprehend Hurricane. The capture is documented and presented to the public to boost the Thunderbolts’ profile as deputies enlisted to enforce the SHRA.[6]

By this time, Iron Man has arrived at Avengers Tower and finds Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) waiting for him on the roof. She tells him about an encounter she had with Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew).[7] Carol found Jessica fighting the Grey Gargoyle (Paul Duval) and after they defeated him, Carol tried to convince Jessica to join the pro-registration side. She tries to do so by telling Spider-Woman that Captain America is still alive and is being held prisoner.[8] Despite this admission, Spider-Woman flees the scene. Iron Man is upset that Carol divulged this information, particularly since Jessica Drew is known to be working with Nick Fury,[9] making her a traitor. Carol disagrees, telling him that once an Avenger, always an Avenger and flies off.

Tony is then greeted by his longtime butler, Edwin Jarvis,[10] Tony confides in Jarvis and asks what he should do now that the war is over. Edwin suggests to Tony that the world will always need Avengers and that he thinks Tony needs to form a new team to help him navigate this new world he finds himself in. When Tony asks who he’d pick, Jarvis says that the only objection he’d have is if he recruited Tigra, unless he wants someone else to do the laundry. Tony takes this to heart and asks his computer to pull up the Initiative database so he can select his next team of Avengers.[11]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Omega Flight (Sasquatch, Arachne, Beta Ray Bill, Guardian, Talisman, US Agent), Thunderbolts (Bullseye, Moonstone, Penance, Radioactive Man, Songbird, Swordsman, Venom), Ms. Marvel, “Spider-Woman”, Grey Gargoyle, “Edwin Jarvis”

Continuity Notes

This story follows the conclusion of Civil War #1-7, which saw the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA). This required heroes to register with the government. This divided the community with half supporting the law and the other half being against it. Iron Man’s pro-registration side ended up being the victors. This law will remain on the books until Siege #4.
There are multiple references to the fact that Michael Pointer was previously called the Collective and that he killed Alpha Flight. This happened in New Avengers #16-20. The first heroes to face him was Alpha Flight and nearly the entire team was wiped out. Most of those killed that day will be resurrected in Chaos War: Alpha Flight #1.
The Collective’s powers were derived by the collective energies of mutants who were de-powered following House of M #1-8/Decimation: House of M - The Day After #1. This collective was controlled by Kuan-Yin Xorn, who posed as Magneto from New X-Men #146 until his death in issue #150 of that series. Xorn’s consciousness drove the Collective so it could restore Magneto’s powers in New Avengers #20. Xorn’s soul is not in Pointer’s body anymore and will be seen in Hell in Wolverine (vol. 4) #2. He will remain among the deceased until he is resurrected in House of X #1.
For more on this see Omega Flight #1-5.
As of this writing (November, 2024), this is the only recorded appearance of Hurricane. He is not affiliated with anyone of the same name.
The Thunderbolts started hunting down unregistered heroes in Thunderbolts #110.
The woman everyone thinks is Jessica Drew is actually a Skrull spy named Veranke. As per New Avengers #42, she took the place of the real Spider-Woman circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1. This is ahead of a planned invasion of Earth that will take place in Secret Invasion #1-8.
Captain America was seemingly killed by an assassin’s bullet in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. Carol’s assertion that Steve is still alive is actually a trap that they are setting for the outlaw New Avengers, as we’ll see in New Avengers #27-31. In reality, Rogers was shot with a chronal bullet and is trapped in a time loop until he is freed in Captain America: Reborn #1-6.
At the time of this story, Nick Fury had gone AWOL after it was revealed that he staged an illegal coup in Latveria, as per Secret War #1-5. Just prior to that, Fury had enlisted “Spider-Woman” to work as a double agent for SHIELD and Hydra, as revealed in New Avengers #14-15. Fury was apparently unaware that Jessica had been replaced by a Skrull as he would only uncover the secret invasion after he went underground as seen in Mighty Avengers #12.
The man who appears to be Edwin Jarvis is yet another Skrull infiltrator, as will be revealed in Secret Invasion #1. Per New Avengers #42, he took the place of the real Jarvis prior to New Avengers #1.
Tony’s new team will be gathered in Mighty Avengers #1.