At the Gate, an A.I.M. secret research facility in the Arctic
Circle, Andrew Forson, Scientist Supreme, oversees the testing of a huge new
machine, using himself as guinea pig. The test is a success and when done,
Forson speaks the code word which causes all of the scientific team to shoot
themselves and sets the place to self-destruct. He moves on to St. Petersburg….
Nick Fury Jr. is in Bagalia, a nation ruled by criminals and
populated by the Masters of Evil. He has cut a deal with Crossfire to let him
see Taskmaster, imprisoned in the city, and offer the man a job….
In St. Petersburgh, the Scientist Supreme kills another
successful colleague for setting his sights too low. He surveys A.I.M.’s new
High Council: Yelena Belova, Mentallo, Superia, Graviton, and
Jude the Entropic Man….
In Bagalia, Crossfire reveals the deal was a ploy to capture
Fury; Fury activates a device in his shoe that clobbers Crossfire. He frees
Taskmaster and they head out but an alarm goes off and soon they are fighting
dozens of supervillains. Then backup arrives:
Black Widow and Hawkeye riding atop a flying car piloted by Phil Coulson. The
heroes escape but Taskmaster is recaptured. The mob wants to tear him apart but
Shadow Council Director Aloysius Thorndrake claims him and the others back
down. Once indoors, Thorndrake is revealed to be Mockingbird disguised by
SHIELD CamoTech….
Taskmaster meets with Coulson who offers him a job; and then
triggers the memory implant with the word “Reverie.” And the next thing we see
is Taskmaster joining the A.I.M. High Council, with no memory of being
recruited by SHIELD….