The Marvel Universe has its fair share of fantastical elements: magicians, monsters, mutants, etc. However, even in a world like that, there still is room for the mundane. One does not need superpowers to be a superhero in the Marvel Universe, after all.
The cover is a Michael Bair and Kim DeMulder piece.
"Fears and Obsessions"
Writer: Bob Harras
Penciler: Michael Bair
Inker: Kim DeMulder
Colorist: Steve Buccellato
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Editor: Greg Wright
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story begins at an insane asylum, in particular the Tyler Foundation for the Criminally Insane. It's a dark, grim place, housing some of the crazier folks out there. Which makes sense as (typically for the spy world) things are not as they seem. You see, the Tyler Foundation is also a prison used by the US Government as a place to house its most dangerous criminals. And among them is this jade-haired beauty.
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This is Madame Hydra. No, this is not the more famous Ophelia Sarkissian incarnation who is more known under the codename "Viper", this Madame Hydra debuted in the Nick Fury vs. SHIELD miniseries that preceded this ongoing series. She is writing a letter to Alexander Pierce; a SHIELD agent she has a bit of an obsession with. A doctor and nurse come by to visit, as it's time for her medication.
(I am so high right now)
The nurse prepares a syringe...and sticks the doctor, killing him quick. The nurse tells Madame Hydra that she's a friend, and there's someone who wants to see her. Yup, it's a jailbreak!
(
But enough about that, this book is about SHIELD, right? So, where are they at? Well, one young agent is hard at work training his butt off.
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Meet Alexander Pierce. You may be familiar with him if you ever saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where he was portrayed by Robert Redford. In the comics, Pierce is a much younger man, an eager ally of Nick Fury, which he shows here by yelling at the training computer to bring it on.
(Bring it on)
He is being observed by a fellow agent, an LMD known only as "Red", and an alien known as Lump. Lump is trying to master the game of jacks. Red remarks that Pierce would get notes from the Madame Hydra we saw earlier in the issue, and they drove him nuts. Mainly because the notes would contain her babbling about how the two are alike in being insane killers. Red believes that Pierce is a good guy, but he fears that Madame Hydra may be right. That they are alike. Red finds it tragic, but Lump is more interesting in being a better jacks player. You may be thinking right now, "Okay, we got SHIELD here, but where is Nick Fury himself? The book is named after him, after all." Well, don't you worry, because he is also in the HQ.
Elsewhere in the new headquarters, Nick Fury and Kate Neville are supervising a new computer system being put in. These new computers incorporate Wakandan technology, so you bet your sweet bippy that this stuff will be beyond cutting-edge. To show this, Nick puts on a helmet that looks like it was stolen from Cerebro.
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The helmet picks up his thoughts, and projects them in the air as holograms. And based on this, a file on Werner von Strucker (son of the then-late Baron Wolfgang von Strucker) appears. Contessa Valentina de Fontaine wonders why Fury thought of him, and Fury believes that it's because Werner is something he doesn't like: a loose end (he was left in Europe). Not to mention the name "von Strucker" sticks in his craw. That's understandable. The von Strucker family has brought nothing but trouble for Fury over the years.
That's when Fury gets alerted that Madame Hydra has escaped. So much for a peaceful base upgrading. Since it's Madame Hydra, Fury needs all hands on deck. In New York's theater district, two more SHIELD agents were planning to enjoy a show: Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, and Network Nina.
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If you watched Agents of SHIELD, you may be familiar with Mack. He was played by Henry Simmons. Network Nina is a personal favorite character of mine from this run. She is a cyber-psionic. What that means is that she has telepathic powers, but not because she is a mutant or an Inhuman or a mutate. She has them thanks to cybernetic implants in her head. She's effective, but also a bit wacky. I adore her.
The SHIELD team heads to the Tyler Institute. When Madame Hydra was committed, a tracker implant was placed under her skin. MacKenzie can't detect it, despite it having a range of 1500 miles. And since nobody saw her leave, and this is the Marvel Universe, she likely was teleported out. We get some interplay between the agents here, including Fury demanding to know why Pierce was getting letters from Madame Hydra. He'd been getting them since she was committed. Pierce didn't report them because he felt it was a personal matter.
(headdesk)
Fury angrily retorts that his agents are not supposed to have a personal life. Pierce points out that Fury vanished for a year, and Pierce himself still stayed at his post. He's got you there, Nick. Thankfully, Network Nina is able to cool their heads. She uses a form of cyber-psychometry to reveal the face of the woman that liberated Madame Hydra.
Now that they have a face, they just have to identify it. Fury warns her to not do that again, as she could have hurt someone. After all, she did last time...
(Hmmm)
So. Where is Madame Hydra?
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These mountains are gorgeous.
Madame Hydra is like "Okay, you brought me here, what's going on here. What's the point of all this?" She turns around and finds herself being surrounded by a bunch of lady warriors in leather. They're not here to talk, they're here for a donnybrook.
(fight fight fight)
Madame Hydra fights the woman, ranting about how she grew up in war-torn streets, and that she not only doesn't fear death, she mocks it. A voice tells Madame Hydra that she has proven herself.
On a SHIELD craft, the crew use the Wakandan neuro-tech to find the woman who liberated Madame Hydra. It turns out that SHIELD has a file on her. The lady's known only as Mai-Pan. A biochemist by trade, she was last seen in China aiding Plan Chu, the terrorist known as (at the time) the Yellow Claw. As the group goes to investigate this, we get a nice character moment between Nick and Pierce. Pierce offers to resign after this mission as he technically committed insubordination. Fury tells him that Pierce can't and shouldn't get in trouble for telling the truth. Fury did abandon SHIELD, and Pierce was right about it.
He asks Pierce to tell him about Madame Hydra. After all, any information can be helpful.
(smart)
Pierce thinks that Madame Hydra is a lunatic, naturally. However, he does admit that he is attractive to her. Well, that does make sense. She's a "bad girl". Dudes can dig that. Their conversation is interrupted by an announcement: Neville has found Madame Hydra. She's on an island that was owned by the Claw's great-great-grand niece, Suwan. Yeah, the Yellow Claw was created as a pastiche of Fu Manchu, and like Manchu, he is functionally immortal. At the time, Suwan was seemingly dead after the events of Captain America #167 (November 1973), but it would eventually be revealed in Agents of Atlas #8 (September 2009) that she was very much still alive and would become known as the Jade Claw.
(the more you know)
The island is supposedly barren, but they're going to check it out. Kate hangs out with Red and Lump. N'Gami, the Wakandan techie who's been heling install the new computers, notes that Red and Lump are Deltans, an advanced form of SHIELD's Life Model Decoys. Things is, they should have died months ago as they're supposed to have short lifespans. Those two should have ceased functioning by now. In fact, they should have died several months ago.
(huh)
Back to the China Sea! Madame Hydra's tracker is pinging loud and clear. It's like the woman isn't even trying to hide herself. Fury thinks this is good. She's being cocky, and cocky people make mistakes. Pierce...senses her somehow.
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Mai-Pan tells the SHIELD agents that Madame Hydra is actually praying so her soul will be prepared for her fate. The group then gets ambushed. As our intrepid band of Agents try to fight off Mai-Pan's warriors, Hydra awakens. She is ready for what's to come.
(let's do this)
Plan Chu himself then shows his face.
Page 26, Panel 2
The time is right for him to rise once more. With the Cold War ending (remember, this is 1990), he sees this as the perfect opportunity to take power over the Earth. He tells Hydra to take Pierce and leave the agents behind. They have a lot to do.
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