—MonopolyYou understand growth, Ms. Marvel. It's part of your power. And it's why I was so excited when Discord reported you were passing through town. You see, when I make you an associate, your powers will amplify mine exponentially.
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Rubicon
- Lockdown (Becky St. Jude)
- Discord (Josh Zimmerman)
- "Uncle Brett" (Monopoly) (First appearance)
- Numerous unnamed others
Other Characters:
- Mr. Richardson (Mentioned)
- Mrs. Richardson (Mentioned)
- Malik Khan (Referenced)
- Yusuf Khan (Referenced)
- Stormranger (Earth-616)
- Orange Plains Police Department
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Human-Inhuman Hybrids
- Zombies (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- New Jersey
- Rubicon (First appearance as Rubicon)
- Jersey City (Mentioned)
- New Jersey
- United States of America
- Hell (Invoked)
Items:
- Plasma Armor
- Discord's Suit
- Kree Stormranger Nanosuit
Events:
- Civil War II (Mentioned)
Synopsis for 1st story
With Lockdown holding Zoe and Nakia hostage, Ms. Marvel stands down and allows Lockdown and Discord to take the three of them into custody, placing a pair of power-nullifying cuffs on Ms. Marvel and a bit of duct tape to gag her mouth. After an awkward van ride, the group arrives in Orange Plains, a town in central New Jersey that has since been renamed Rubicon, after the company that's overtaken its economy. At Rubicon HQ, Lockown and Discord remove the gag and introduce Ms. Marvel to their employer and benefactor, an affable but unsettling man who insists he be called "Uncle Brett."
Uncle Brett gives a spiel about all the important work he's done to grow the economy, and eerily declares that he plans to bring Ms. Marvel into the Rubicon "family." Using her Kree Stormranger Nanosuit, Ms. Marvel unlocks the cuffs and frees her friends from Lockdown's binds. She tries to fight off Uncle Brett, but as soon as she makes physical contact, her eyes glaze over and she falls into trance. Zoe is able to snap her friend out of it by biting her thumb, and the three girls rush towards the exit.
In the woods, Rubicon catch up to the girls, where Ms. Marvel defeats Lockdown, and has Discord in her grasp when she begins to squeeze much harder than necessary. This frightens both her and Zoe, and she lets him go. Before she can figure out what exactly has happened, Uncle Brett arrives and reveals himself as the horrific Monopoly, an amorphous blob made of the screaming souls of his "associates." With exceptions for those he considers "management material," like Discord and Lockdown, everyone who agreed to work for Rubicon has been literally incorporated into their employer, while their bodies drone about as mindless slaves. Monopoly overpowers Ms. Marvel and swallows her whole, intending to do likewise. As she falls into the abyss, Kamala wonders if she can stop this threat, if it, like so many other problems in the world, will only continue to grow. Eventually, she gathers her resolve and bursts through Monopoly, freeing his victims and reducing him to his Uncle Brett form.
Local law enforcement arrive on the scene, as well as Rubicon's lawyer. The lawyer declares that there is no evidence of Uncle Brett himself doing anything to his employees that was not mentioned in their contracts. The officers concede to work on an investigation into Ms. Marvel's claims, but as of now, they can only arrest the two "rogue employees," Lockdown and Discord. As they are sent to jail, Lockdown and Discord both vow to kill Ms. Marvel, Becky over her longheld grudge dating back to the second superhuman civil war and Josh for Kamala ruining his second chance at a home. The ride back to Jersey City is a quiet one, as the girls are shaken by what they've seen.