—Escapade (Shela Sexton)ClikClok users -- close the app! Turn off your phone! The algorithm is alive -- capturing people and turning them into content!
Appearing in "Swipe Up"
Featured Characters:
- Avengers Academy
- Moon Girl (Lunella Lafayette)
- Red Goblin (Normie Osborn) (Bonded with Rascal)
- Kid Juggernaut (Justin Jin)
- Blackheart
- Mettle (Ken Mack) (Photo) (Appears on screen)
- Captain America (Aaron Fischer)
- Hazmat (Jen Takeda) (Photo) (Appears on screen)
- Bloodline (Bri Brooks)
- Escapade (Shela Sexton)
- Walpurgis
- Thomas (Appears on screen)
- Devil Dinosaur (Appears on screen)
- Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
- Terry the Proletarian (Appears on screen)
Supporting Characters:
- Dani Moonstar (Appears on screen)
- Sunspot (Bobby Da Costa) (Appears on screen)
- Marcus Wetherell (Appears on screen)
Antagonists:
- Mojo II (Appears on screen)
- Spiral (Appears on screen)
- M.O.D.E.M. (Appears on screen)
- Hexus (Mentioned)
- "Cherry Crane" (Appears on screen)
- Driscoll Reynolds (Mentioned)
Other Characters:
- Dazzler (Alison Blaire) (Appears on screen)
- Juggernaut (Cain Marko) (Appears on screen)
- Squid-Boy (Sammy Paré) (Appears on screen)
- @billyaltman (Billy Kaplan) (Appears on screen)
- @larrytrask23 (Lawrence Trask) (Appears on screen)
- @uranianclokker (Appears on screen)
- Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (Appears on screen)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Appears on screen)
- H.E.R.B.I.E. (Appears on screen)
- @undergroundking (Harvey Elder) (Appears on screen)
- @wingfeet4free (Wyatt Wingfoot) (Appears on screen)
- Lizard Boy (Billy Connors) (Appears on screen)
- @ladyclawz (Yuriko Oyama) (Appears on screen)
- Jack O'Lantern (Hudson Berkhart) (Appears on screen)
- J. Jonah Jameson (Photo) (Appears on screen)
- Mysteriant (Qaari Beck) (Appears on screen)
- Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange) (Mentioned)
- Giganto (Appears on screen)
- Martin Preston (Appears on screen)
- Speed (Tommy Shepherd) (Mentioned)
- Iceman (Bobby Drake) (Appears on screen)
- Thing (Ben Grimm) (Appears on screen)
- Janet Van Dyne (Appears on screen)
- Hawkeye (Clint Barton) (Appears on screen)
- @kbishop13 (Kate Bishop) (Appears on screen)
- @morsecode (Bobbi Morse) (Appears on screen)
- @markoflint (William Baker) (Appears on screen)
- Striker (Brandon Sharpe) (Appears on screen)
- @blopez (Humberto Lopez) (Appears on screen)
- @maddyveil (Maddy Berry) (Appears on screen)
- @greenvic (Vic Borkowski) (Appears on screen)
- Imogen Delaney (Photo) (Appears on screen)
- Santron (Appears on screen)
- Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) (Appears on screen)
- @trinary (Shilpa Khatri) (Appears on screen)
- @amadeuscho (Amadeus Cho) (Appears on screen)
- Tony Stark (Appears on screen)
- @stiltykid (Lexington DuBois) (Appears on screen)
- Robot (Impersonates Proletarian/"Terry" (Piotr Rasputin))
- Guy Debord (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- @vivvision (Viv Vision) (Appears on screen)
- @kpryde43 (Kate Pryde) (Appears on screen)
- Other commenters
Races and Species:
- Cats (Appears on screen)
- Devil-Beasts (Appears on screen)
- Dogs (Appears on screen)
- Humans
- Mutants
- Moloids (Appears on screen)
- Robots (Appears on screen)
- Spineless Ones (Appears on screen)
Locations:
Items:
- Fönki Pops (Appears on screen)
- Galacta (Toy) (Appears on screen)
- Venus of Willendorf (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Captain America's Shield (Appears on screen)
- Crimson Cosmos Armor (Appears on screen)
- Gravity Dice (Appears on screen)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Swipe Up"
Dazzler records a concert performance and the Human Torch participates in the ice-bath challenge in videos uploaded to the ClikClok platform. In a glitched out video, Escapade warns viewers to close the app as its algorithm is taking users captive and turning them into content. Makeup tutorials, sewer monsters, and toy reviews scroll by, even a video of Shela Sexton and Justin Jin baking that assures its audience: everything is normal! More and more videos are uploaded, including old videos from Cherry Crane and takedown videos from rival influencer Striker. Some shorts begin to spread awareness of Charles Xavier’s “red triangle” technique to ward off mind control. Red triangles trend through the comments, even as Mojo II presents the Academy babies, infantilized versions of the Avengers Academy students. Even M.O.D.E.M. goes off script and lets his viewers know about the app’s dangerous intentions in between Santron judgements, workout videos, and episodes of Hot Wings. Encouraged by Iron Man, Moon Girl is able to complete development on a QR code that can short-circuit the Hexus-ran system. The users cause the platform to crash as well as a power outage on the eastern seaboard. Debriefing on campus, the gathered members of Avengers Academy opt for a screenless activity in the form of Moon Girl’s newly acquired board game.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- This issue’s story is told primarily through various ClikClok videos and comment sections, hosting a bevy of cultural references to viral internet trends.
- The fictional ClikClok platform bears great resemblance to the massively popular TikTok.
- The “ice-bath challenge” is reminiscent of 2014’s Ice Bucket Challenge.
- Tony Stark appears on “Hot Wings”, similar to the Hot Ones series.
- Cherry Crane’s post may be a reference to Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle advertisement.
- Lunella and the other students decide to play the new film-inspired board game "The Tax-Forms of Wildershire", similar to Lord of the Rings and the complicated fictional boardgame "Cones of Dunshire" from Parks and Recreation.
Trivia
- Many of the original Avengers Academy students make their first showing in this series when Striker makes a clapback video, supported by former coeds Veil and Reptil.
- The writer features some commenters based on real world accounts, as well as one based on his own online handle.
- Dazzler references the events of Uncanny X-Men #218.
- M.O.D.E.M. introduces the Academy Babies, similar to the X-Babies when Mojo de-aged the X-Men in X-Men Annual #10.