In Avengers: Standoff!, S.H.I.E.L.D. crossed major lines against Marvel’s villains by imprisoning them with one of Marvel’s strongest cosmic weapons.
The Avengers have come up against plenty of threats over the years, but they usually end up dealing with criminals after they committed crimes. But one post-Secret Wars storyline saw the Avengers forced to contend with a plan that saw S.H.I.E.L.D. trap some of their greatest enemies in — suburbia.
Now that WandaVision has sent two Avengers to the suburbs in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. we’re taking a look back at Avengers: Standoff and how it set up the Marvel Universe to be rocked by the events of Secret Empire.
BEFORE AVENGERS: STANDOFF
Avengers: Standoff is one of the first major Marvel events following the reformation of the multiverse at the conclusion of Secret Wars. Steve Rogers, now without the super-soldier serum keeping him young, has assumed a major position within S.H.I.E.L.D. The world discovers through Rick Jones that S.H.I.E.L.D.had been considering implementing a new initiative codenamed Kobik. The plan would allow S.H.I.E.L.D..to use fragments of a reality-warping Cosmic Cube to make changes to the world. Sam Wilson — the new Captain America — keeps Jones out of the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D. but at the cost of Rogers’ trust in him. Although Hill denied this plan ever went into motion and convinced Rogers she canceled the program, her continued experiments led to the creation of a reality-warping girl named Kobik.
Seeing an opportunity to contain some of Marvel’s most dangerous criminals once and for all, Hill used Kobik and her S.H.I.E.L.D.resources to create Pleasant Hill. Although it seemed like an ordinary small American town, Kobik was able to use her powers to force captured villains into believing they were merely regular residents of the town, changing their appearances and hiding their memories. A force field kept them all contained within the town limits, sealing the prison with numerous S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and scientists within to keep them placated. The intent was for the villains to become content and remain unaware of their true selves, thereby keeping them trapped in the regular community instead of roaming the world and posing threats to national security.
WHAT HAPPENED IN AVENGERS: STANDOFF
The foundations of Pleasent Hill crack though when Fixer instinctively retained his ability to create impossible inventions, including a device that restored the memories of those affected by Kobik in Avengers Standoff: Welcome To Pleasant Hill #1 by Nick Spencer, Mark Bagley, Scott Hanna & Paul Mounts. Led by a restored Baron Zemo, a growing number of villains prepare to make their move. Complicating matters further is the Winter Soldier, who reveals the existence of Pleasant Hill to Rogers. Meanwhile, Sam Wilson and Rick Jones are forced on the run to avoid capture by S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: Sam Wilson #7 & #8 by Nick Spencer, Angel Unzueta, Daniel Acuña, Matt Yackey, and Joe Caramagna, the former Falcon ending up in Pleasant Hill as well.
Agents of S.H.E.L.D. #3 and #4 by Marc Guggenheim, German Peralta, Rachelle Rosenberg, & Joe Caramagna, along with New Avengers #8, #9, and #10 by Al Ewing, Marcus To, Dono Sánchez-Almara & Joe Caramagna, focused on the group of rebellious heroes trying to assist Jones. Uncanny Avengers (by Gerry Duggan, Ryan Stegman, Mark Morales, Guillermo Ortego, Richard Isanove, and Matt Yackey) & All-New, All-Different Avengers (by Mark Waid, Adam Kubert, Sonia Oback, Dono Sánchez-Almara, Romulo Fajardo Jr, & Edgar Delgado) saw the two teams lured into a conflict before working together to find Rogers, coming into conflict with Kobik along the way.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER AVENGERS: STANDOFF
While the story eventually saw the Avengers unite against the hordes of enemies, the storyline also set fractures in the heroic base of the Marvel Universe that would soon risk to tear down the entire world. The Avengers teams were at odds, and Kobik — traveling with the Winter Soldier following the dissolution of Pleasant Hill — departed with him and a group of villains who’d briefly become a new Thunderbolts roster. But the biggest impact of Kobik’s influence came with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Steve Rogers. Rogers was severely injured during the chaos of Avengers: Standoff, requiring Kobik to use her powers to not just restore Steve Rogers to full health but return him to his physical prime.
Coupled with Maria Hill being ostracized for her role in setting up Pleasant Hill in the first place, this left an opening in S.H.I.E.L.D. command that Steve Rogers was only too willing to accept. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to almost everyone was that when Kobik “fixed” Steve Rogers, she also changed his history by turning him into a Hydra sleeper agent. This set in motion the events that would lead to Hydra taking over America in Secret Empire, which effectively serves as a sequel of Avengers: Standoff in many ways.
