The Ultimates: Grand Theft America
Issue: #22
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: Bryan Hitch
Inker:
Colors:

In an unknown location, Clint Barton wakes up. He is strapped to a chair and defenseless. His captor tells him that he’s been drugged for the last three days and forced to reveal a number of state secrets. America’s enemies now have the security codes they need to begin their attack.

Elsewhere, Tony Stark orders Jarvis to prepare breakfast, then goes to comfort Natasha, who asks to skip the meeting planned with Nick Fury and suggests something a little more intimate instead. The rest of the Ultimates assemble in the Triskelion. Quicksilver voices his feeling that something is very wrong — members of the team are being removed, and he’s becoming suspicious. He’s interrupted by the unbelievable sight of SHIELD helicarriers falling out of the sky, their propulsion systems disabled. A wave of uniformed soldiers streak over the wreckage, preparing for Phase Two of the invasion of America.

The noise and vibrations from the crash alert Stark to the fact that something is wrong, but before he can react, Natasha has a gun pressed to his head. At that moment Jarvis walks in; Natasha fatally shoots him and turns the gun back on Stark.

Invading soldiers and machines sweep through New York City. The Triskelion has taken damage to its upper floors, but a few moments later we see a group of people standing outside. Quicksilver claims he has saved everyone on the top three floors. He tells Wanda to stay in touch and plunges into the middle of the invaders as one of the city’s last methods of defense. SHIELD, the Reserves, and the Ultimates fight back, but the battle turns against them. Fury loses an arm; the Reserves are overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemy soldiers. In the sky, a figure carrying a hammer and sickle appears, and lightning takes Quicksilver out of the fight.

At last we see the invading forces’ leaders, including a man in a red outfit, another in a mechanical suit of armor, and one who looks suspiciously like Gunnar Golman, who answers to “Loki” and openly declares himself a Norse god. The man in red calls for a camera to record the last phases of the battle; he is leading this army in a preemptive strike to stop the United States from further meddling in world affairs. As everyone looks on, the invaders topple the Statue of Liberty. The final panel shows the members of the invading team, most of them unnamed, and the man in red declares the “Great Satan” has been liberated.

Submitted By: Seldes Katne