Synopsis / Summary / Plot
This issue starts and ends with short bits of a current episode, separated by a series of flashbacks.
It starts with ant-sized Yellowjacket staggering through the ruins of Camp Hammond's Subbasement 9, past the body of an unidentified student, fearing it's the end of the Initiative.
Several months ago YJ is with Iron Man and Mr Fantastic (with Captain America, Goliath (Bill Foster), Iceman and Thing) helping sort through the ruins of Stamford after the New Warriors incident that sparked off the Civil War. IM, MF and YJ pledge to stop things like this happening again.
Some days later the 3 of them are in the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four's HQ, making plans. They currently have 40 ideas that will change the world, but none that will take immediate effect. Henry Pym provides idea #41, the 50 State Initiative.
They wonder how to get enough trainees. They consider modifying their SPIN Tech idea to create nanite-based obedience collars for supervillains. Soma Tech to induce powers in ordinary humans. Cloning. Imitating powers with technology. On that score Tony Stark suggests the Guardsman armour he invented, or the Iron Spider suit he created for Spider-Man. And YJ shows them the plans for a suit that uses Pym particles to make the wearers small or large. SHIELD call it GI Ant-Man.
Then they move on to idea #42, expanding Reed Richards' Negative Zone prison. Which will be called Project 42.
Weeks later, after Civil War, they announce the start of building Camp Hammond in Stamford. They promise the townsfolk that the presence of so many superheroes will mean they never have to fear supervillains again. Ares, Black Widow, Gargoyle, Invisible Woman, Justice, Ms Marvel, Nighthawk, Sentry, Thing, Wasp and Wonder Man show up to prove the point.
Now we jump to the week before 'now', as protesters protest about a new busload of recruits. Yellowjacket goes to give them his welcoming speech, leaving War Machine to handle the crowd. But when Jim Rhodes points to the subdued Dragon Man android being brought in on a truck with a bunch of the existing trainees (Cloud 9, Hardball, Komodo and Thor Girl led by Triathlon), this only fuels the anger and fear.
Inside the compound they're met by Bengal, Constrictor, Gargoyle, Nighthawk, Stature, Stingray and the 3 Scarlet Spiders. When Cloud 9 tells everyone that they were able to capture Dragon Man because he had a crush on Komodo, Constrictor treats it as a big joke. Komodo responds by revealing her relationship with Hardball, which angers DM who goes on a rampage. A Spider saves Cloud 9, who finds him strangely familiar. And War Machine KO's the Dragon.
Henry Peter Gyrich is none too pleased about the bad press this is going to get, as Rhodey takes the android off to the Negative Zone prison. He then goes to introduce the new recruits to with their new instructor Taskmaster. Henry Pym is none too pleased about that, but Gyrich reminds him about the villain's obedience collar.
Stature (Cassie Lang) comes over to talk to 'uncle' Hank Pym about her dead father Scott (Ant-Man) Lang. She asks him about how he survived an explosion (in #2) by shrinking to subatomic size. She wonders if her dad might have survived the explosion which killed him in the same way. Maybe they should go into the microverse to look for him. But Henry says he checked the site of Scott's death, and there was no trace of the use of Pym particles.
Taskmaster lines up the new recruits:- Ant-Man, Crusader, Melee, Geldoff, Dragon Lord, Geiger, Red 9 and Diamondback. We learn that Melee is a mistress of all martial arts, and Dragon Lord can summon and control dragons but needs to prepare a potion 1st.
Then Taskmaster does a double-take when he realises he's got an Ant-Man on the team, and accuses him of wrecking his circus scam. That was a long time ago and was Scott Lang. This AM is the irredeemable Eric O'Grady in a stolen GI Ant-Man suit who correctly denies being that guy, but goes on to blacken Scott's name by crediting him with some of his own misdeeds.
Cassie overhears this slander, turns giant and tries to stamp on O'Grady. But he grows to giant-size too and they start to fight. Ant-Man wins by telling Stature she's stepped on Stingray and then whacking her with the bus while she's distracted. So giant-size Yellowjacket wades in instead.
Henry Gyrich orders Taskmaster to intervene. TM uses it as a class demonstration. He uses his spinning shield to hit all their Achilles' tendons, and the 3 giants topple on top of each other. YJ is still conscious because he lands on top. So TM KO's him with a blow to the nerves in his oversize neck.
Later HPG and YJ review the Dragon Man mission with Triathlon (recently completed his training as an instructor) and the trainee team. Triathlon thinks it went well, and particularly commends Komodo for this and other jobs. Gyrich ignores all that and instead blasts the trainees for their poor performance against the Zodiac when they had to be rescued by the latest New Warriors (in NW#4, back between our #2 and #3). In particular he's angry that 1 of the young New Warriors died then in public view.
Hardball reacts by anrily reminding his superiors that they know that 1 of their own trainees killed another (Armory killed MVP in #1). Triathlon and Thor Girl don't know what he's talking about, nor that HPG and YJ had forbidden the other 3 to mention it.
Komodo drags Hardball into a storage room - she's turned on by his aggressive insubordination. Roger asks her if she could change back to human while they kiss, but Melati is ashamed of her original body. Roger admits that he knows her secret since he saw her human form in #3, so she transforms while he holds her up.
Meanwhile we follow the 2 Henry's to YJ's lab in Subbasement 9. There we see the 3 MVP clones (the Scarlet Spiders) in stasis. HPG wishes they had more of them instead of bolshie trainees. Dr Von Blitzschlag offers to make more.
The issue ends back in the now where we find that the cause of the mayhem is an MVP clone with Armory's Tactigon on his arm and the letters KIA incised into his chest.