Synopsis
Avengers: The Initiative #33 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Donyell Taylor recently visited his half-brother Dwayne's grave with a dilemma.
He remembers (as Bandit) fighting Dwayne (as Night Thrasher), resentful that their father kept his illegitimate son (Donyell) a secret and denied him his place in the wealthy family. They finally reconciled, but Dwayne is now dead (in the Stamford incident which sparked off Civil War I) and Donyell has taken over the Night Thrasher ID.
In #28-29 Baron Blitzschlag showed him a clone of his brother's body. And Hood said he could use his magic to bring Dwayne's soul back to inhabit the clone. The price would be betraying his team. Donyell knows Dwayne would hate him for doing that, but he would be *alive* again. Donyell doesn't know what choice he'll make.
Now he's part of the Avengers Resistance opposing Norman Osborn's Dark Reign, and they're attacking the Camp HAMMER Initiative training base while Osborn and most of his gang are busy attacking Asgard. With him are Gauntlet, Justice, Rage, the remaining Scarlet Spider (Patrick), Tigra and Ultragirl. They're currently fighting members of Hood's gang including Barracuda, Boomerang (as Outback), Brothers Grimm, Griffin, Living Laser and Mandrill.
The Hood gives orders to Razor-Fist. He wants all Initiative members who were part of Tony Stark's regime confined to quarters because they can't be trusted. That includes Penance. He wants everyone else out there in the fight. He doesn't want to bother Osborn and Taskmaster who are busy in Asgard. Besides he's got a secret weapon, and we see Blitzschlag and Dwayne Taylor's clone.
Outside Asgard Osborn (as Iron Patriot) and Tony Masters are standing over the fallen body of Thor with Diamondback, Ms Marvel (Moonstone) and the U-Foes. Osborn chides Taskmaster for adding his ineffectual might to the attack on Thor, and sends him back into Asgard where he might find some lesser Asgardians he *can* deal with. But he tells equally-ineffectual Diamondback to stay.
Taskmaster fumes as his photographic reflexes enable him to hold his own in a sword duel with Fandral. But he only just uses his shield to block a mace blow from Hogun.
Meanwhile Rachel Leighton wonders why Osborn wanted *her* to stay. Possibly as an ex-partner of Captain America she adds legitimacy when he declares Thor under arrest for treason. She's stealing herself to show her true allegiance by using her explosive throwing diamonds against him when she see Maria Hill, ex-director of SHIELD, approaching in a truck with a portable missile launcher. Hill fires, and Diamondback suicidally drops her diamonds to add to the imminent explosion ...
... but the Constrictor's cables yank her out of the way as the villains are scattered by the blast. Frank Schlichting, her lover, shields her body as Thor gets up and is joined by Maria Hill, this time with a machine gun. Frank takes Rachel away on 1 of the modified Goblin Gliders that Norman Osborn (ex-Green Goblin) has given his troops. He overrides her wish to stay and help the good guys because they are outclassed in this battle. Rachel chooses this moment to wonder if she's only with Frank because she can't have Steve Rogers. They see Thor getting away. (Siege #2 will show him being taken to nearby Broxton in Hill's truck.)
The duo then see Iron Patriot being attacked by Ares, 1 of his own Dark Avengers. (Siege #2 shows that Balder and Heimdall convinced the Olympian God Of War he was on the wrong side.) Osborn is saved by Sentry, whose black eyes indicate that Void is in control. We see various reactions to the scene (only actually depicted in Siege #2) where Sentry rips Ares in half.
1 of the witnesses is Taskmaster who flies *his* Goblin Glider back to Osborn to try to talk him down from this disastrous course. Especially when Norman sends Sentry into Broxton after Thor. He's quite relieved when he sees Captain America's shield whizzing towards his boss. Rachel is gobsmacked. (She presumably still thought Steve was dead because she hasn't read CA: Reborn.)
Back in Camp HAMMER Mankiller and Ringer have joined the fray on Hood's side. But Scarlet Spider fights past some H.A.M.M.E.R. guards and hacks into the computer system to switch off the bad guys comms and ground their planes. Hood personally enters the battle and demonstrates (especially to Donyell) that he still has magic (of a new type) as his guns fire blasts which take down Gauntlet, Justice, Rage and Ultragirl.
2 HAMMER guards stop Penance from leaving his room and joining the defence of the base. They have SPIN Tech guns which would strip him of his powers.
Outside Hood is insisting that Night Thrasher turn on his teammates or Dwayne will be left dead. Just then Tigra leaps on Hood to get revenge for what he did to her (in New Avengers #35). Hood orders Donyell Taylor to kill her.