DMC Presents: ‘Avengers Standoff’ All About Action, Consequences
Throughout the years law enforcement in the Marvel Universe has struggled with what to do with captured super villains. They can’t put them in prison with non-powered criminals. They have tried locking them up in maximum security prisons like The Vault and The Raft but sooner or later they always break out and things go very badly. In Avengers Standoff it comes to light that S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill has been keeping villains locked up in a very controversial way and it’s about to blow up in her face.
SPOILER ALERT: below I will get into details of what Maria Hill did, so don’t read after the jump if you don’t want to know.
In Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill it is revealed the Maria Hill has been using a fragment of the Cosmic Cube to erase the memories of super villains and transplanting them to the quaint town Pleasant Hill where they are given new faces and new identities. The villains go about their “normal” lives all the while not knowing that their neighbors and co-workers are actually S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. In the prologue issue a newcomer to Pleasant Hill struggles to acclimate himself to his new life, he has no memories, he doesn’t know how he got to Pleasant Hill, he almost knows something is wrong. His suspicions are confirmed when he’s confronted by a mysterious stranger, another resident of Pleasant Hill who reveals himself to be the super villain and ex-Thunderbolts member The Fixer. The Fixer was able to figure out the secret to reversing the process and shows the man who he really is, he’s former Thunderbolts leader Baron Zemo!
In this week’s Avengers Standoff, Zemo begins freeing his fellow captives setting the stage for a breakout. Meanwhile Steve Rogers and Captain America learn of Hill’s secret and visit Pleasant Hill. The two captains are not pleased with what they find in the town and find themselves at ground zero when the powder keg goes off! The series will cross over through the various Avengers titles in March and April bringing together a boatload of characters, many who haven’t interacted since Secret Wars! This crossover is sure to set the stage for the return of Steve Rogers to Captain America status, the return of the Thunderbolts and more as we march towards this summer’s Civil War II crossover. So grab some popcorn and watch as heroes and villains level the town of Pleasant Hill!
