Uncanny Avengers (2023 series) #5

Captain America reformed the human/mutant Avengers Unity Squad to combat Orchis' anti-mutant campaign. In particular they opposed the new Mutant Liberation Front headed by Captain Krakoa who were designed to ramp up anti-mutant prejudice. Cap also worked with the Daily Bugle's Ben Urich to expose Orchis' actions. The MLF stole a nuclear weapon and hid it on the Empire State University campus. The Squad tracked them down and defeated them but the bomb was armed and couldn't be disarmed without CK. CK wasn't there but they tracked *him* to the Bugle where he went to kill Urich. There he was unmasked as the Hydra Steve Rogers from an alternate reality who replaced our guy in the lead-up to the Secret Empire event.

This issue starts with a flashback to evil Steve meeting with Dr Stasis after his revival/resurrection. He demands to be known as Grant Rogers (using his middle name) because our Steve has 'tainted' the name. GR readily agrees to join Dr S's anti-mutant war but insists on doing it his own way, starting with taking over the CK armour from Cyclops (which he did in the Uncanny Avengers Free Comic Book Day issue).

Last issue 'Captain Krakoa' easily defeated the Squad at the Daily Bugle, apart from being unmasked. Now on the roof of the Bugle building he stands over the fallen Captain America (his broken left arm sheathed in the shell of Winter Soldier's cybernetic arm) and prepares to kill him with a big gun that his armour generates. But last issue CK used CA's shield to cut Deadpool's body in half, and now the fallen top half clamps it's teeth into the villain's ankle causing him to misaim.

He's about to shoot them both when Psylocke (Kwannon) rejoins the fight. She chops through the gun with her (psychic?) katana, and mentally tells the others that they must disable the Forge-built CK battle suit (referring to him as Stevil, which seems to catch on). His strength enhanced by the armour and his super-soldier serum, he bats her away into Black Widow taking them both off the roof. That leaves Penance (Monet St Croix) to start ripping the back of his armour to shreds, until he back-headbutts her nose. Then he retrieves Cap's shield, wedged into the wall above DP's bottom half, and uses it to break the floor and drop her into an office below.

But now CA is on his feet and scoops up DP's top half (and uses it as a shield against another blast from CK). Wade Wilson tells Steve to throw him at the foe so that he can bite him on the head. Cap then takes his shield from CK, breaking *his* right arm in the process.

During all this Rogue has been back at ESU where techies have been trying to disarm the nuclear bomb but they only have 1 minute left. Now, as Quicksilver zooms in there with a wounded Widow (if nothing else she seems to have Monet's nosebleed), she contacts Steve to say that the off-button is controlled by a retinal scanner that needs CK's eye to function. CK offers to stop it but CA says his eye will do as well. But the telepaths Kwannon and Monet return to warn him that it's a trap and the retinal scanner will kill him. And they both high-kick CK into submission.

Cap reluctantly asks Rogue to fly the bomb into space where it can detonate safely, knowing that she probably won't survive. But Rogue is already on her way, but not to space because it would endanger the International Space Station overhead. She says she's heading for Area 51. Everybody at the Bugle realises her sacrifice, including Ben Urich and the Kingpin. DP begs Steve to do something (and Grant suggests that Wade is in love with her but has never had the courage to tell her, but Penance and Psylocke stamp on his face to shut him up). Cap calls the authorities for help and to warn them about the nuclear detonation ...

... but Quicksilver whooshes past to take DP-top to the site. En route he tells him that he won't be able to get Rogue away in time so he'll leave Wade there to save her with a share of his healing factor. Rogue lands and throws the bomb as far away as she can. But she's still turned into a skeleton when it goes off. However skeletonised Wilson is also there and their hands are joined. Pietro Maximoff sees the mushroom cloud from some distance away, but the skeleton pair have a ringside seat as their bodies reform. And Wade asks Anna Marie what she sees in her husband Gambit.

A newspaper article by Ben Urich is a 'voiceover' for that last bit and some transitional scenes. He describes how the Unity Squad prevented the stolen nuclear bomb from killing anyone. We see him, Cap, Kwannon and Monet standing over the unconscious body of Captain Krakoa as his voice tells how CK tried to silence him but the Squad stopped him and unmasked him as the Hydra CA, somehow resurrected by Orchis. He will stand trial as Grant Rogers and many people are asking questions about Orchis.
Wilson Fisk, ex-Mayor and ex-Kingpin Of Crime, as come forward as a human who witnessed Orchis' attack on mutants and murder of the human attendees at the Hellfire Gala. His mutant wife Typhoid Mary is among the missing, possibly dead, and Ben trusts his word in this situation. This is said over a panel of a press conference given by Fisk and Blob, an innocent MLF member who was duped into believing CK was Cyclops and that they were doing good.
We see the burned remains of the tree that was the Krakoan embassy in New York as Urich continues to say that the X-Men were framed (for the Gala deaths, CK/MLF's actions, giving humans poisoned medicine and other stuff), but among the upcoming trials will be 1 for their leader Cyclops (which will hopefully exonerate him).

Now we take a break to read a missive from Dr Stasis to Orchis personnel which puts the opposite view. Cyclops' trial will be held in Paris, France despite Orchis asking for Paris, Texas where they have the death penalty, but he hopes to influence the court to go that far. He expects the few mutants remaining on Earth to try to rescue him but Orchis will be ready for that (and they can add more mutants to the execution count). Meanwhile they'll continue their anti-mutant propaganda. And with the mutants out of the way they can turn their attention to their allies like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. He advises his people to keep up the good work, and then into the following phase where they makes sure all human carriers of the X-gene won't reproduce.

Now Urich's article continues as the Unity Squad weeks later watch from a rooftop as a courthouse sets Grant Rogers free to the accompaniment of a clash between his supporters and his detractors. Among the police keeping order is at least 1 member of the Secret Empire. Ben calls it a perversion of justice, and promises to keep telling his readers the truth.

Stevil gives a speech to the masses saying that humans will rise up to overthrow the domination of mutants and their like, and in his dream the mutants will be at peace too. But we see his dream as mutants and the FF being led away in chains and power dampeners to a mass grave. He says the mutants profess to be different and have their own laws, and they can have that on the planet Mars that they have terraformed and renamed Arakko. He reminds his audience that the mutants can resurrect each other. He asks if the US flag protected humans against the mutants, and answers no. He blames the government and tears the flag apart, proclaiming his new identity Flag-Smasher who will stand for a united (non-mutant) humanity.