Appearing in "Competition!"
Featured Characters:
- Heroes for Hire
- Power Man (Luke Cage) (Main story and flashback)
- Iron Fist (Danny Rand)
Supporting Characters:
- Nightwing Restorations
- Crime-Buster (Eugene Mason) (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
- Firefly (Thomas Ewing)
- Black Tigers (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- NYPD
- Joy Meachum
- Princess Azir
- Princess Azir's contingent
- Nova (Richard Rider) (Only in recap)
- Crime-Buster (Frank Moore) (Only in recap)
- D.W. Griffith
- Jeryn Hogarth
- Harmony Young
- Bob Diamond
- Jenny Royce (Voice only)
- Ace Robinson (First appearance)
- Ace's friend (First appearance)
- Jimmy (First appearance)
- Andre (First appearance)
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Additional clients of Crime-Buster
- Prison gang guards
- Prisoners
- Country club members
- Spectators outside Madison Square Garden
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Sol
- Earth
- North America
- United States of America
- Louisiana
- New York
- Pottersville (Only in flashback)
- New York City
- Georgia (Referenced)
- Seagate Prison (Referenced)
- Bermuda (Mentioned)
- K'un-Lun (Mentioned)
- Shangri-La (Topical Reference)
- United States of America
- Murkatesh (Mentioned)
- Halwan (Mentioned)
- Timbuktu (Topical Reference)
- North America
- Earth
Items:
- a bomb
Synopsis for "Competition!"
Eugene Mason escapes from a prison crew in Louisiana using a hammer used for railroad spikes on the guards. The fellow prisoners marvel at his inhuman speed.
Later in New York, the Heroes for Hire are fighting the Firefly in an attempt to prevent him from torching a building. As he’s using his intense flame on them while they hide behind a section of wall, Firefly is suddenly doused by a fire suppressing foam and subsequently caught in a web trap. The Crime-Buster appears and apprehends the villain despite the protests of Danny and Luke who had been hired for the case. Afterwards when alone, Crime-Buster removes his disguise to reveal that he is actually the escaped Eugene Mason and considers himself fortunate to not be recognized by Power Man after having served time with him at Seagate Prison.
The Crime-Buster then begins undercutting the Heroes for Hire by taking any and every job from them with cheaper fees and dirtier tactics. They are dismayed at him taking their primary source of revenue and heavy-handededness but feel powerless to do anything about it. They’re eventually hired by the city to foil a terrorist plot to blow up Madison Square Garden during a match between U.S. and Halwan boxers by a group from Murtakesh calling themselves the Black Tigers, sworn enemies of Halwan.
Upon arriving, they encounter Crime-Buster also on the scene but suggest finding the bomb is more important than their differences. Eventually they fight off the terrorists and discover the location of the bomb but discover only fifteen seconds remain on its timer. Crime-Buster, fearing for his life, flees from the building but Luke and Danny stay behind to do what they can. Luke rips out all of the bomb’s wires and an explosion is heard from outside but the building surprisingly remains intact. Luke, mostly unharmed, laughs with Danny that the detonator exploded but the bomb was successfully disarmed and they are celebrated as heroes, much to the ire of Eugene Mason who vows that there will soon be a reckoning.