A new conspiracy revealed that sets the stage for major Marvel events and comebacks of lost heroes and villains in Avengers: Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill.
The first big crossover of the All-New, All-Different Marvel Now is set to explode in the Avengers books and the match is lit in this week’s one-shot by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley.
Marvel already revealed estranged friends Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson will be drawn into the mystery of Pleasant Hill but the story will strike all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
This week we learned about where some MIA heroes are villains are and the secret of Pleasant Hill. Before we hear from Spencer and the revelations could mean for the Marvel Universe here’s a SPOILER ALERT!
If you have read Avengers: Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill yet stop reading now.
Seriously.
OK.
Here it comes.
Remember when Tony Stark and Reed Richards built a prison in the Negative Zone during Civil War? The conspiracy revealed by Spencer is a mix of that twist mixed with The Prisoner and Wayward Pines.
Pleasant Hill is the latest project of Maria Hill. S.H.I.E.L.D. is keeping super villains in a secret prison that appears to be a idyllic small town. The prisoners’ memories have been wiped and implanted with false ones of their “lives” in this community. S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists used shards of the Cosmic Cube.
This issue features the return of Bucky Barnes to Earth after being off-planet fighting alien threats. You may remember Bucky took Nick Fury’s place as “The Man on the Wall” in Original Sin.
Tracking the Cosmic Cube brings the Winter Soldier back home where he uncovers the S.H.I.E.L.D. prison then he becomes an inmate.
Two more famous faces are living in Pleasant Hill: Dr. Erik Solvig of the Thor cast and a psychiatrist named Bruce who has anger issues?
Is it Bruce Banner? Amadeus Cho is the star of Totally Amazing Hulk. Banner is M.I.A. and we know Old Man Logan is hunting him. Had SHIELD finally found a way to keep the Hulk in check by having Banner checked into their prison town of the mind-wiped.
The biggest reveal came at the end with a shock. The Pleasant Hill citizen we thought was Winter Soldier was really Baron Zemo. The Fixer was another villain revealed who remembered everything. This sets up the upcoming Thunderbolts relaunch starring Winter Soldier as leader of the group of villains, a team originally formed by Zemo.
How will Steve, Sam and Tony react when they learn about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s “Pleasantville” prison for super villains….or does one or more of them already know about Pleasant Hill?
With great power (Cosmic Cube) comes great conspiracies!
The action continues in Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill #0 and into the Avengers books.
By Editor