Before we take a right into Idaho from Washington, let’s jump out to our two non-contigious states. First up, the amazing islands of …
HAWAII
PEARL HARBOR/HONOLULU (The Invaders, Red Ronin)
The current-day Invaders make their home in a Pearl Harbor facility. The group was assembled to protect American interests and the interests of allies abroad. Internationally, the group is well-known for engaging in “photo-op”-style missions where they deliver aid and supplies, escort refugees to camps and help out during natural disasters. In truth though, these missions are often elaborate covers for more clandestine operations including capturing enemies of the state, destroying weapon facilities and delivering supplies and equipment to U.S. agents abroad. The current version of the Invaders includes Spitfire, Blazing Skull, Fin, Blue Diamond and Thin Man. The group is sometimes joined by additional U.S. troops such as Captain America, U.S. Agent, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Blue Shield and War Machine. Further it is sometimes accompanied by foreign agents, including Black Panther (Wakanda) Vormund (Germany), Union Jack (United Kingdom), Sunfire (Japan), Sabra (Israel), Arabian Knight (Saudia Arabia), Peregrine (France) and Shamrock (Ireland), though none are considered members of the team.
The permanent members of the team make Hawaii their home and are seen frequently outside of the Pearl Harbor military zone, where they respond to threats of all kinds.
Notes: One of the neat things about the current Invaders is that they have been relatively untouched by the current Marvel Universe. There was a brief series about them in the early 200s, but beyond that they’ve been kind of forgotten. I posit that the reason they “fell off the radar” is that they’re largely an international team. Far more than even the globe-trotting Avengers, because they ferret out problems well before they hit mainstream awareness. It’s quite normal for comics to be relaunched with claims of being proactive instead of reactive, but in this case, the Invaders really are. This team is both Black Ops and Publicity Friendly, and they make a great effort to maintain that appearance, but the military objective always comes first.
Red Ronin, the giant robot, is stationed in Pearl Harbor where one of its five primary operators are always on site, waiting to be called into action. In particular, the robot’s crew is charged with responding to super-sized threats to the U.S. West Coast, which seems to be a frequent hot-spot for Kaiju landings, some hailing from Monster Island, others from Lemuria and others from strange alien places. With the success of the Ronin project, the government has established contracts with other Pacific Rim nations. Those contracts have prompted the contstruction of additional Ronin models, though none have debuted … yet.
Notes: This is the U.S.’s attempt at offering some protection against the Godzilla-sized monsters that sometimes appear in America. Some are under the control of Mole Man. Others are sent out from Dr. Demonicus or Lemuria. No matter, Red Ronin is an attempt to fight fire with fire. Offering help to other Pacific Rim nations is just an opportunity to keep him well-rehearsed.
What’s “Relocating the Marvel Universe,” anyway? Check out the series hub here.
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