Synopsis
Avengers: The Initiative #19 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Skrulls led by the fake Dum Dum Dugan of SHIELD have taken over the Initiative's Camp Hammond base as their Central Command. They have a doomsday weapon ready in case they lose the war against humans. Iron Man entrusted (Skrull) Dugan with it during World War Hulk (in IM: Director Of SHIELD #20) to send Hulk and Manhattan Island into the Negative Zone as a last resort. While the Skrull Yellowjacket Criti Noll was running the Initiative they planted the tech in the base of every State's Initiative team, and they can use it to send the USA into the NZ, destroying the Earth in the process.
But some of the Initiative have rumbled this and they are systematically destroying all the bases. However Skrull-Dugan knows that they only need 3 bases to do the job, and at the moment they have 6 still standing. But the enemy is attacking all those 6 at once. However Dugan doesn't send his troops to defend all of them but orders them concentrated wherever 3-D Man is because only *he* can detect Skrulls.
We see Cloud 9 (from Montana's Freedom Force) and Ryder of the Skrull Kill Krew helping Tigra of Arkansas' Battalion defeat their Skrull infiltrator impersonating Razorback. In Kentucky Action Pack's Prima Donna and Vox face the Skrull 'Frog Man' with help from the Nevada Heayy Hitters' Hardball carrying the head-in-a-jar of the SKK's Moonstomp. Wisconsin's Great Lakes Initiative (Big Bertha, Doorman, Flatman, Mr Immortal and Squirrel Girl) find that the latest occupant of the Grasshopper armour is a Skrull, but Gravity (another Heavy Hitter) and Catwalk (another SKK head-in-a-jar) help out. In Florida Jennifer Kale and Wundarr of the Command fight a Devil Dinosaur Skrull (who seems to have been masquerading as Conquistador) with the Arizona Desert Stars' Komodo and the SKK's Riot. Jocasta (from the New Mexico Mavericks) and the 3rd SKK jar-head Dice are in Washington State where they've exposed Skyhawk of Earth Force as a Skrull. But they are caught between supporters of the Skrulls as well as anti-Skrull demonstrators which allows that Skrull to detonate his base's doomsday tech.
Finally we go to Texas where the Rangers (Firebird, Living Lightning, Phantom Rider, Red Wolf, Shooting Star and Texas Twister) have been joined by Ant-Man (Eric O'Grady) and 3-D Man (Delroy Garrett) who has exposed RW's wolf Lobo as the Skrull. SS shoots him dead but a crowd of anti-Skrull protesters are incited by many Skrulls among them to attack the heroes because they're probably *all* Skrulls. A thrown brick smashes 3-D Man's Skrull-detecting goggles and he can no longer tell who's Skrull in the crowd.
Meanwhile Whiz Kid of Philadelphia's Liberteens has been racing round the States blowing up 'spires' housing the Skrull doomsday tech. It's always on an Initiative Team's base, usually an obvious pylon or transmission tower. She's now returned to the Liberteens' base where it's not obvious so she's blown up the whole HQ building. She's joined by Spinner of Freedom Force who gets a different superpower each day, and currently it's also superspeed so they've shared the task. She's returned from Illinois where the Spaceknights are fighting a Skrull Fleet in Chicago. She now heads for Hawaii and they'll meet up at Camp Hammond.
Back in Texas Delroy has contacted the previous 3-D Men, Chuck and Hal Chandler, in the Maverick's HQ where another speedster, the Heavy Hitters' Nonstop, has arrived to blow *that* up. He wants advice on how to tell Skrulls without his goggles. Chuck tells him that the goggles were only a focussing aid. The Tri-Force energy within him can do it without them. He concentrates hard and his eyes turn separately red and green. He dives into the crowd and starts shooting. The people think he's gone made until his dead targets revert to Skrulls. The Chandlers drive away from the New Mexico base as Nonstop sets off her explosives. Chuck tells Delroy he can't send Devil-Slayer to teleport them elsewhere because he's lost contact with him. (We saw DS collapse at the end of last issue after 'porting all the above teams to their destinations.) Jocasta's also gone off-air after the Skrull tech was activated in Washington. Garrett remembers that the Skrull 'spires' use Negative Zone energy, which gives him an idea.
Meanwhile Crusader (the secret Skrull who's on Earth's side) has been fighting in the mass battle in Central Park (Secret Invasion #7-8) and our side has won and the Skrull-replaced heroes have been freed. The victory has been dampened because it (appeared to) cost the life of the Wasp. Then Crusader sees that the Skrull Yellowjacket is alive and using his Super-Skrull speed to escape. Z'Reg uses his Freedom Ring to give himself superspeed so he can give chase.
Spinner reaches the Hawaiian base, the Lookout Point, by running across the ocean. It's Skrull infiltrator was already killed (#14) but she still needs to destroy it's 'spire'. But she spots some regular Skrulls there and prepares to attack them when her power time runs out and she crashes on the base. She'll get another power in a few seconds but meanwhile she's helplessly surrounded. So she sets her explosive to go off in a few seconds and hopes for something like invulnerability. But she gets flight and the bomb goes off before she can escape. She and all the Skrulls are killed, but 1 of them lasts long enough to activate the spire.
Dugan is informed that 2 spires are active, and he says that Camp Hammond can be the necessary 3rd if the doomsday option is required. Then he learns that it is as YJ arrives to inform him that Queen Veranke is dead, the Armada has fallen and the biological weapon (Wasp) failed. It is time to activate the base's spire and the doomsday weapon. Criti Noll declares that if they can't have Earth then no-one shall.
At which point Crusader gets there and punches YJ in the jaw. They continue to fight but now that they are in close range Z'Reg can use his Ring to stop the Skrull using any superpowers, and he gives the foe a beating. Firing up the 3rd spire has been forgotten about as Dugan, now gone Skrull, and the others prepare to shoot Crusader ...
... when the cavalry arrives in the form of some of the Initiative members and Skrull Kill Krew led by 3-D Man with the rallying cry "Avengers assemble". Delroy Garrett helpfully explains that the Negative Zone energy generated by the 2 spires enabled them to use the Initiative's Neg Zone jump gates to get here. But Dugan has an ace up his sleeve, the only sample of an experimental gas they've invented that is lethal to humans but not Skrulls. He releases it and some of the heroes immediately start to feel the effect. If Texas Twister were here he could create a whirlwind to take the gas away but he's not got through the jump gates yet ...
... but then Whiz Kid arrives by running and successfully does the same job. However in the process she absorbs too much of the gas and dies in 3-D Man's arms. His 2nd rallying cry is "Kill Krew kill" and he personally takes on Skrull-Dugan.
Meanwhile Crusader and Skrull-Yellowjacket are still battling it out. YJ is trying to get to the controls to activate the last spire but the hero is determined to stop him. But now YJ gets in some licks and manages to pull away from him. The increased distance allows him to regain his powers and he grows giant-size and stomps on his foe. Then he aims another container of the gas at him, expecting it to kill him. But Crusader charges through it unharmed which make YJ realise he must be another Skrull. But the hero lands the killing blow.
Meanwhile (again) 3-D Man is still beating on Dugan and their fight smashes the doomsday controls. And Garrett appears to rip the Skrull's heart out. The other Skrulls surrender but Ryder of the Kill Krew kills 1 anyway. Gravity and others congratulate Crusader on saving the day (and the planet). He has 1 moment to bask in the glory before Delroy shoots him because he's a Skrull.
As he lies dying he wishes it could have ended better. And his Freedom Ring activates and his body disappears.