Appearing in "The Only Good Skrull"
Featured Characters:
- Initiative
- Staff
- Cadets
- Crusader (Aubrey Thompson) (Main story and flashback)
- Point Men
- 3-D Man (Delroy Garrett)
- Devil-Slayer (Mentioned)
Supporting Characters:
- Initiative
- Staff
- Cadets
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Fantastic Four (Mentioned)
- Tony Stark (Poster)
- Freedom Ring (Only in flashback)
- Young Avengers
Antagonists:
- Skrull Empire (Main story and flashback)
- Skrull Imperial Starfleet
- Skrull Army
- K'rtem (Main story and flashback) (First appearance; dies)
- Super-Skrulls
- Giant-Man Super-Skrull
- "Thor" Skrull
- "Phoenix" Skrull
- "X-Skrull"
- "He" (Mentioned)
- Grim Reaper (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Nazis (Mentioned)
- The Führer (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Iron Maniac (Tony Stark) (Only in recap)
- Titannus (Only in recap)
Other Characters:
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Stacy (Only in flashback)
- Avengers (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Iron Man (Poster)
- Wasp (Poster)
- Scarlet Witch (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- She-Hulk (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Hawkeye (Clint Barton) (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Vision (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- New Avengers (Only in recap)
- Doctor Strange (Only in recap)
- Ms. Marvel (Only in recap)
- Spider-Man (Only in recap)
- Wolverine (Only in recap)
- Captain America (Only in recap)
- Iron Man (Tony Stark) (Earth-199999) (Poster)
- Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane) (Earth-199999) (Poster)
- United States Air Force (Earth-199999) (Poster)
- James Rhodes (Earth-199999) (Poster)
- Pepper Potts (Earth-199999) (Poster)
- Gyrich (Mentioned)
- "Black Kapitan Amerika" (Isaiah Bradley) (Mentioned)
- T'Naja Beasts (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth
- Camp Hammond
- War Machine's Quarters
- New Mexico
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- Hawaii (Mentioned)
- Camp Hammond
- Throneworld (Mentioned)
Items:
- War Machine Armor Model 3
- Hawkeye's Bow & Trick Arrows
- Gauntlet's gauntlet
- Original 3-D Man Googles
- Patriot's Uniform
- Cosmic Ring (Main story and flashback)
- Shadow Cloak (Mentioned)
- Cosmic Cube (Mentioned)
Vehicles:
- Avenger's Quinjet CH-4 (Destruction)
Synopsis for "The Only Good Skrull"
3-D Man is seeing everyone but Crusader, as Skrulls. The only reason is because Crusader used the Freedom Ring to alter his perception. 3-D Man takes the Quinjet to warn the Avengers, getting out of Crusader's line of sight. But as soon as he makes his way over New Mexico, the Skrull virus activates, causing the Quinjet to crash.
Back at Camp Hammond, the virus is also drained power from War Machine. However, Baron von Blitzschlag uses his powers to recharge him. He tells War Machine that ironically, in World War II, Isaiah Bradley nearly killed him. If he had, then Blitzschlag would not have been able to save him.
Upstairs, Gauntlet gathers the Initiative heroes. However, Crusader is confused over whether to tell everyone that Yellowjacket is a Skrull. As they move out, Crusader remembers his past. His real name was Z'Reg, a Skrull soldier who was assigned to Earth to spy on the Avengers. But when he arrived, the Avengers has already disbanded. Since his cover was well established, he couldn't inform anyone of his findings. Nonetheless, he decided to learn as much as he could about his assignment... by any means necessary. He walked into a rental store, where he befriends the female store clerk who was a huge Avengers fan and rents any films on the Avengers. He later learned that one of his neighbors was a hero named Freedom Ring, whose ring was forged of the reality-warping Cosmic Cube. He revealed himself to Freedom Ring, explaining that he had renounced his people. He began training Freedom Ring in his own way. But he was too gentle with his protegee, who was killed by Iron Maniac. He then took up the ring and became a superhero. At first, he didn't think humanity was strong but when Captain America shook his hand and registering, he changed his views.
In the present, Crusader is with the Initiative and Young Avengers fighting the Skrulls in New York. He soon comes face-to-face with K'Rtem, his friend from back during their training days, the one who gave him the scar across his right eye. Fearing that K'Rtem would reveal his true identity, he tries disable him by growing Wolverine's claws, only to mortally injure him. He attempts to use his rings to save him, but K'Rtem didn't want to be saved. As he lays dying, he acknowledges to his old friend that he " no long love Him." Shapeshifting the scar off his eye, Crusader decides in his mind to fight for Earth.
Solicit Synopsis
SECRET INVASION TIE-IN! "The Only Good Skrull..."
With the NEW AVENGERS and the MIGHTY AVENGERS trapped in the Savage Land, it's up to the AVENGERS INITIATIVE to face off against the first major strike of the Skrull Invasion! There, on the field of battle, the cadet with the biggest secret has to choose how red (or green) his blood really is. Heroes will fall. Heroes will die. And one shall rise. ALL THIS and: A new cowardly low for ANT-MAN! A new danger for WAR MACHINE! And 3-D MAN gains a "killer" new "krew"!Notes
- Takes place during the events of Secret Invasion #1.
- The Iron Man film poster and is featured in this issue.
Trivia
- The cover is an homage/Skrull version of the covers to Avengers: The Initiative #1.
- Crusader recaps some events from the past, namely:
- The fight against Iron Maniac
- The fight against Titannus, from Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 3) #25.