Captain America / Iron Man #1 (2021)

Brief Synopsis In the past, Tony Stark just had a one-night stand with Veronica Eden and offers to introduce her to S.H.I.E.L.D. In the present, Eden faces court for her infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. government on behalf of Hydra. She pleads guilty and is transported away. Her armored car is intercepted by former Fifty-State Initiative recruit Fifty-One. Iron Man flies in and engages him, but is pinned down by armored gunmen coming for Eden. Captain America appears and gives chase to Eden and her men. They lose him and Iron Man after causing a bus to derail. Captain America explains that he was keeping a tab on Eden since the Winter Soldier and Falcon had taken her down. Tony feels guilty for having facilitated her access to S.H.I.E.L.D. and wants to know whether she was Hydra before or after meeting him. The heroes deduce that Eden might be in cahoots with Todd Baker, a senator who is trying to reinstate S.H.I.E.L.D. and together they might be planning to control both sides of the S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra conflict. Iron Man pinpoints a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house connected to Baker's operations where Eden might be hiding. Inside the warehouse, Eden agrees to help Fifty-One get something in exchange for helping her. A group of former Initiative recruits named the Paladins burst into the warehouse to bring Fifty-One in. Iron Man and Captain America arrive shortly after. A battle breaks out, and a handful of Eden's gunmen stay behind to distract the heroes while she slips away with Fifty-One. Eden is planning to enact a plan that in her eyes will save the world, one dead super hero at a time. Detailed Synopsis Years ago, Tony Stark is getting out of bed after having casual sex with a woman, who is left awestruck by his performance. She takes Tony by surprise when she reminds him of a proposal of hers, and refreshes his memory on a project involving a human/A.I. interface. Tony starts getting dressed, and as she gets up as well, she figures that he doesn't remember who she is. Tony quickly recalls the project's details. As she puts on a robe, the woman clarifies that she isn't working on the project, but rather manages the team that does. Tony undermines her team's approach, arguing his company was doing comparable things six months ago. The woman reproaches that Tony had told her he saw great things in her future, and Tony clarifies that he meant in the bedroom. The woman insults Tony and he apologizes for unwittingly leading her on. While opening the door to show Tony out, she clarifies she's angry because he's basically told her she wasted the last two years of her life, and she was relying on that project's funding. Contemplating the woman's area of expertise, Tony offers to get her an interview with S.H.I.E.L.D. She's skeptical, accusing Tony of not even knowing her name, but he refutes her. In the now, the woman, Veronica Eden, is facing court. The judge lists off her charges of the infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. government on behalf of Hydra, and asks her plea. Eden attempts to express that there was a mistake, but the judge points out she's only to enter a plea. When she admits to have forgotten his name, the judge states that it's Judge. She makes a cheeky remark about it to the chagrin of her lawyer, prompting Judge Judge to strike his gravel. Cutting to the chase, Eden pleads guilty. As she berates herself in her internal monologue for not keeping her mouth shut, Eden is being transported in a armored car that is going through an interchange. A silhouette hovers nearby. The driver takes notice of it and the co-driver wonders if it's Iron Man. They quickly realize that it's not as the figure fires at the vehicle's tires with an electric blast. In her inner monologue, Eden complains that there is much to talk about. Iron Man speeds through the cars in the freeway as he orders B.O.S.S. to alert the emergency services and deploy warning beacons. A set of three discs are dislodged from his armor's heel. Once on the road, they project a giant hologram of Iron Man that halts the traffic and engages in crowd control. Flying up to the assailant while brushing off his electric attacks, Stark recognizes him as Fifty-One, a former trainee of the Fifty-State Initiative. He beats down Fifty-One as B.O.S.S. fills him in that he is wanted for three murders. Iron Man hurls Fifty-One into a truck and gives him an only warning to stand down. Armed gunmen burst out of the back of that truck and fire at Iron Man, first with electric charges and then with a rocket which knocks him into the armored car. In her inner monologue, Eden has been contemplating on what she thinks is the worst thing about Tony Stark; not the money or the womanizing or the ego, but that he finds it annoying that he is nice despite being a genius billionaire. A voice via radio contacts Tony to offer his help. Eden runs out of the armored car, evading fire from two gunmen trying to keep Iron Man pinned. Iron Man looks back to see Captain America jumping out of his motorcycle while falling from a flyover above. He quips that he was just passing through. Rogers lands in his two feet while he lets the motorcycle crash into the two gunmen and explode. In her inner monologue, Eden explains that she is not fond of super heroes because they're loud and brash, making the rest of the people look bad. Two gunmen escort Eden into a SUV and Captain America gives chase while Iron Man stays with Fifty-One. Captain America charges toward the moving vehicle, using his shield to block an electric discharge from a gunman that is leaning out of the back seat window. In her inner monologue, Eden clarifies that villains aren't all murderous scumbags who want to enslave humanity, and that some of them want a better world. Rogers knocks down the gunman with his shield and Eden sees him hold onto the unconscious man. She peeks out of the window to see Captain America riding his shield like a sled, and exasperatedly asks for a gun. She shoots the wheels of a bus in the next lane, and Steve warns Tony about this. He also jumps into the bus, crashing through a window and warning its passengers to brace for impact. He guarantees their safety, and as soon as the bus derails out of the flyover, Iron Man holds it up from below and makes a joke about catching the bus. Once the bus is back on the road, Captain America helps the passengers out of the door, and two older ladies fawn over him. From behind, Tony points out that it was him who literally caught the bus. As the police are overseeing the scene, Captain America walks up to Tony to relay what he knows: that Eden moved from S.H.I.E.L.D. into a government position while keeping tabs on Hydra training camps. She was vying for the title of Hydra Supreme by siphoning the best recruits into her own army. Steve explains that the Winter Soldier and Falcon took her down, and they had asked him to keep an eye on her. When Rogers asks for Tony's reason for being there, Stark dances around the fact that he slept with her until Cap deduces it. Tony defends himself, clarifying that it was during his partying days. Tony does blame himself for facilitating her access to S.H.I.E.L.D., but Steve assures him that they did their due diligence and she would have passed all background checks. Tony wonders that S.H.I.E.L.D. could have cut corners when they saw his name in the application, and states that he needs to know whether she joined Hydra before or after meeting him. Cap recalls that she has contacts in the senate, including senator Todd Baker. Recognizing that he is trying to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony and Steve ponder if she's trying to sabotage his attempts of if he's working alongside her, meaning they both could be trying to take control of each side of the S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra war and manipulate it together. Tony puts his helmet back on as a police officer hands Captain America back his shield. Since Eden's holdings were seized, Tony has B.O.S.S. look into Baker, and he discovers that one S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house linked to Baker's operations has been delisted. At night inside a warehouse, Fifty-One is trying to communicate with Eden but she can't understand his alien language. She thanks his help and recalls that her team said he wants something in return from Hydra, but she clarifies that she's not part of Hydra, so she can't help him. Fifty-One pulls out a phone and shows it to her, prompting her to change her mind. An explosion goes off behind them, exasperating Eden in her inner monologue. A group of heroes walks through the rubble, and Eden recognizes them as the Paladins, a team of former recruits from the Initiative. They address Fifty-One to apprehend him and ask Eden to stand down. Fifty-One charges an attack and Eden's men open fire at the Paladins, who charge forward. Eden attempts to defuse the situation, but Iron Man and Captain America immediately crash through the ceiling. They land in front of the Paladins. Fed up, Eden orders her men to kill everyone. Vox and Pioneer tackle two gunmen while Eden takes off with Fifty-One. Think Tank is shot in the shoulder, and Iron Man disarms his shooter and breaks his gun. Vox is hit from behind by an electric blast from a gunman, knocking him down. Cap uses his shield to provide cover and comments on the young hero's sloppiness, showing disappointment. Steve grabs a rock from the rubble, throws it at the gunman, and knocks him out. Eden orders her men to retreat via radio, three of them provide cover while the rest begin to evacuate through the hole left by the explosion. In her inner monologue, Eden admits to not knowing entirely what is going on. She's on a car in a convoy while the heroes are left in the warehouse, with the Paladins reeling from the fight. Eden explains that she's not a criminal mastermind, that she has a small ambition yet has found herself being trailed by Captain America and Tony Stark. Inside one of the cars, Eden confirms to Fifty-One that she can give him what he wants. In her inner monologue, Eden elaborates that Baron Zemo got in her way when he stole Hydra from her, but that doesn't mean the plan is dead. She states that what Captain America and Tony Stark don't understand is that she's trying to save the world, one dead super hero at a time.