Appearing in ""Sidekicks" (Part 3 of 6)"
Featured Characters:
- "Young Avengers"
- Iron Lad (Nathaniel Richards)
- Asgardian (Billy Kaplan) (Name revealed)
- Hulkling (Teddy Altman) (Name revealed)
- Patriot (Eli Bradley) (Name revealed)
- Cassie Lang
- Kate Bishop
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Ant-Man (Scott Lang) (Mentioned)
- Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) (Mentioned)
- Hawkeye (Clint Barton) (Mentioned)
- Rebecca Kaplan (Mentioned) (Name revealed)
- Jeff Kaplan (Mentioned) (Name revealed)
- Bucky Barnes (Mentioned)
- The Black Captain America (Isaiah Bradley) (Only in flashback)
- Sarah Gail Bradley (Mentioned)
- Thor (Mentioned)
- Thunderbolts (Mentioned)
- Faith Bradley (Mentioned)
- Avengers Fail-Safe Program (First appearance)
- Matthew Bronleewe (Mentioned)
- Todd Casey (Mentioned)
- Richard Chung (Mentioned)
- Anissa Dorsey (Mentioned)
- Perry Moore (Mentioned)
- Robin Parrish (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Avengers Fail-Safe Program
- Captain America's Uniform
- Captain America's Shield
- Extremis Armor
- Iron Lad Armor
- Wiccan's Staff
- Patriot's Uniform
- Isaiah Bradley's Shield (Only in flashback)
- Ant-Man's Suit
- Pym Particles (Mentioned)
- Ant-Man's Helmet (Mentioned)
- Super-Soldier Serum (Mentioned)
- Kang Armor
- Mutant Growth Hormone (Behind the scenes)
Synopsis for ""Sidekicks" (Part 3 of 6)"
At the former Avengers Mansion, Nathaniel Richards explains to Iron Man, Captain America, and Jessica Jones that he had "downloaded the Vision's operating system and data files into [his] armor," but his exposition is interrupted by commotion outside, where the four discover Patriot, Hulkling, Asgardian and Kate Bishop tending to an enormously tall and unconscious Cassie Lang.
Captain America and Kate revive Cassie and help her shrink back to her normal size, escorting her into the mansion to retrieve her father's equipment, and Richards introduces the Young Avengers, claiming that they were "part of the Avengers failsafe program" which had been designed by the Vision "to pinpoint the exact locations of the next wave of...young Avengers" "if anything should happen to the Avengers." Richards claims that each of the Young Avengers is tied in some way to the Avengers, though none of them know how.
Captain America asks Kate to step outside in order for the Young Avengers to reveal their true identities. Hulkling and Asgardian admit that they don't know how they acquired their powers, but Patriot reveals that he is the grandson of "the real Captain America," "the black Captain America," Isaiah Bradley.
Upstairs, Cassie dons her father's uniform and admits to Stark that, though her "growth spurt" that evening was the first she has experienced, she has been stealing Pym Particles for years. Stark refuses to return Scott's helmet to Cassie, claiming that the life of a superhero is too dangerous for someone as young as her, and explaining that he disbanded the Avengers after the Scarlet Witch "murdered the Vision and Hawkeye and [her] father."
Downstairs, Patriot explains that he acquired his powers after receiving a blood transfusion from his grandfather, but their conversation is interrupted by commotion outside where they encounter the Growing Man. Hulkling attacks the android, which splits into a platoon of smaller human-sized replicas, all of whom demand to know where "the Master" is. Captain America suggests subduing the replicas rather than fighting them, and when Richards realizes that the replicas are "stimuloids" that he invented, he orders Asgardian to utilize his "other powers." Asgardian performs a spell and Richards tells the replicas that he is their master, causing the replicas to send a signal to notify the thirtieth century Kang that they have located Richards.
Inside the Mansion, Stark opens the training facility, explaining that he and Captain America need to see what the Young Avengers "are capable of without [their] gear." The teenagers leave their equipment and head inside the room, and Stark locks the door so that Captain America can contact the Young Avengers's parents. As Rogers, Stark and Jones discuss the likelihood of Richards's story, Kang the Conqueror arrives from the future.
Trivia
- Hulkling is sixteen years old at the time of this issue.
- While explaining his origin to Captain America and Jessica Jones, Patriot incorrectly claims his grandfather was the first Captain America. However, Steve Rogers actually predates Isaiah Bradley as taking the Super Soldier Serum and becoming Captain America. Rogers was given the serum before Pearl Harbor, Isaiah Bradley joined the United States Army shortly after. Isaiah was actually a part of a program designed to recreate the Super Soldier Serum.