Avengers vol. 3 #68Avengers vol. 3 #68
Title: "Red Zone: Part Four- The Great Escape”
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Oliver Coipel
Inker: Andy Lanning
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Editor: Tom Brevoort
At the camp set up to the south of Mount Rushmore, the soldiers run forced to abandon the dead.
Dr. Chu says that the one quarter of South Dakota is now covered in the Red Zone. He says that by tomorrow it will cover half the Mid-West. Hawkins asks if they are going to have to move all the patients again. Dr. Chu says that the strain would kill them. Warbird asks how many are dead. He says that there are twelve hundred dead and that more are dying as they watch. Lieutenant Robinson reports in to Warbird. She says that she thought his team had the Rapid City operation. Robinson says that they had to leave when the fog rolled over it. He says that they lost two of the choppers in the cloud. Warbird says that they can’t keep running.
Jack shouts out for help from Vision or
Ant-Man. He says that it is She-Hulk. He puts his head to her
chest and listens for a heartbeat. He hears the beat, then he
hears it louder. Finally She-Hulk containment suit tears off of
her. 
She-Hulk stands
up. She breathes out red mist as she towers over Jack of Hearts.
Vision tells Cap that the AIM soldiers are dead. Cap says that he isn’t happy about it, but that they couldn’t have done anything about it. Wanda looks at Vision and says that he has some blood on his hands. Vision says that he is more human than ever then. Ant-Man says that they aren’t going to believe who everyone was reporting to: Dell Rusk, the Secretary of Defense. He says that Cap was right in that only a few scientists really knew what was happening there. Scott says that most people thought that they were working on a vaccine for HIV. He adds that with all the money they spent on this that they might have been able to do it too.
Suddenly, Jack of Hearts comes smashing
through the wall. She-Hulk enters the room growling. 
Wanda asks
She-Hulk what happened. She asks if Jack hurt her. She-Hulk claps
her hands together and sends everyone in the room flying away.
Vision asks what is wrong with her. Cap says that maybe the
disease is affecting her. He says that Vision better put her to
sleep and that it is too confined for a fight. She-Hulk leaps
into the air and smashes into someone. Vision phases through
She-Hulk’s chest and apologizes for the discomfort. She-Hulk
swats him away. Vision lands and says that maybe this involves a
stronger touch. Vision increases his density a thousand fold.
Vision tells She-Hulk that he doesn’t want to hit a friend,
but that he will stop her. She-Hulk leaps onto Vision and knocks
him over. Vision says that her strength isn’t normal and
that he must reconfigure. 
She-Hulk smashes
her hand through Vision’s chest and destroys his chest. Cap
calls out to She-Hulk. She-Hulk says, “HURRRT! FIND…
BANNER!” Wanda manages to sit up. She sees Vision and says
that she has to get help. Wanda crawls up the stairs.
Warbird is out of her suit and in an office. She is on the phone saying that they can’t take anymore patients there. She says that they only have so much room, and that the living have to be a priority. She says that they will send in clean up crews when this is finished. Warbird hangs up the phone and puts her head in her hand. Hawkins enters and asks if she is having a long day. Warbird says that it is a long life, and that she hates giving cold orders. She says that she needed to get out of the suit for a while, and that she will be back up there in a minute. Hawkins says that Warbird handled the Feds like a pro. Warbird says that is because she used to be one. She says that she was Head of Security for the Air Force, and then went to NASA. She says that it was there that she became trapped between a pair of extra-terrestrials, and hit with some kind of weird weapon. She says that she was transformed. Hawkins says that she has moved up. Warbird says that she doesn’t know if the Avengers are a step up. She says that they are just a different group trying to protect the world. Warbird says that she did all the things she did because her father said that a woman shouldn’t be doing a man’s work, but that sometimes she wishes that she didn’t have powers and was doing things an ordinary woman does. Warbird’s comm.-card buzzes. She sees a sketchy vision of the Scarlet Witch saying that they need help.
As Black Panther awakens, Stark welcomes him back. Panther asks where they took them. Stark says that the real question is why. Panther says that it is because they are a threat and can expose America. Stark says that this isn’t about an Evil Empire. Stark says that Panther calls him blind. Panther says that he does so often. Stark says that they need to get this out in the open. He says that Panther has a problem with him. He says that he doesn’t know if it is because he is rich, successful or handsome, but that he isn’t apologizing for any of it. Panther is looking around. He says that he is beyond jealousy. He says that he is the King of Wakanda. He says that they embrace both culture and technology. Panther says that in many ways he is richer than Stark. Panther adds that they don’t have time for Stark’s insecurities, and that they need to find a way out. Stark says that he has been held captive by terrorists before, and that this time, unlike Panther, he is prepared. Stark pushes a button on his watch.
The Iron Man armor activates, uses its homing signal, and then engages the auto-pilot. The armor takes off out of Stark Enterprises.
Inside the Pentagon, Rusk tells Gyrich that he has been spying on the Avengers for him. He says that he has given him codes to the files with their private lives and their bank accounts, but that the codes aren’t working. Gyrich says that they are probably changed on routine. Gyrich starts to go on, but the phone rings. Rusk is talking to the President. He tells him that he doesn’t think that the Avengers are their best hope. Rusk asks Gyrich to excuse him.
Gyrich walks outside. Redwing unplugs a
camera. Falcon descends. He tells Gyrich that was good work and
shakes his hand. Gyrich says that he still doesn’t like
this, and that the Avengers shouldn’t operate in secret. He
says that Rusk found out about the false passwords. Falcon says
that it doesn’t matter now. He says that Gyrich has the tape
of Rusk, and that he has been watching Rusk through the
birds’ eyes. Falcon says that today they were scrambling
trying to shred documents and destroy computers. Gyrich asks if
Rusk is involved with the Red Zone. Falcon says that it is his
pet project. He says that when Gyrich gives the info to the
President that he will take care of Rusk. Gyrich says that
something still bothers him about Rusk’s background. Flacon
says that the paper trail is legit, but that he can’t find a
single person that knew him. Falcon says that he is getting
close. Suddenly Falcon is shot. Rusk steps forward with the gun
and asks if they really believed that he didn’t know that he
was being double-crossed. Rusk shoots Gyrich in the leg. Rusk
stands over Gyrich and says, “Was haben sie erwartet?”
Gyrich looks at the letters on Rusk’s name tag and says that
they should have known. He asks if he is trying to destroy
America again. Rusk starts clawing off his face. He says,
“Destroy it? Hardly!” 
Dell Rusk pulls
off his face revealing that he is the Red Skull. He says, “I
love America. It’s the Red Skull’s kind of
country!”
Avengers Files rating: 7.5 out of 10
First off I have to say that I love the attention She-Hulk is getting in the book. I love the character and wish that someone would make an attempt to give her a real solo book with a rogues gallery and everything. As it is I love her metamorphosis. Well Red Skull is out of the proverbial closet now. Interesting read, but still feels very fractioned. Coipel regresses somewhat in this issue. He still has some nice pics in this issue, but they lack the depth he showed last issue. She-Hulk, despite the favor for added attention, looks like crap… even for a savage She-Hulk. 3.5 out of 5 for the art.
Review and pictures by The Leader