- "So, how did things end with Robbie Reyes? Last I remember, we were chasing down his uncle."
"Oh, you know, guy tried to become a god, so we opened up a portal beneath his quantum power cube and Ghost Rider dragged him to another dimension with his Hellfire Chain." - ―Melinda May and Phil Coulson[src]
The Battle at the Chinatown Crew Headquarters was the final battle which had pitted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s forces against Eli Morrow and the Chinatown Crew.
Background[]
- "If S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to see what I'm creating, I'll show them. I'll show them all."
- ―Eli Morrow[src]
During the South Ridge Penitentiary Riot, Eli Morrow was kidnapped by Lucy Bauer, who had been turned into a ghost by his fault and wanted to be cured from her condition. Using the knowledge of the Darkhold, Morrow installed several Quantum Batteries in the Roxxon Power Plant, seemingly to help Bauer but secretly in hope to achieve his experiment destined to grant him incredible powers. While Bauer was destroyed by Ghost Rider, Morrow initiated his experiment despite Phil Coulson trying to stop him.[3]
The experiment proved to be successful, and while Robbie Reyes, Coulson and Leo Fitz were trapped between two dimensions, Morrow gained matter creation powers he used to escape the facility, killing several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the process.[1] Morrow went to the headquarters of the Chinatown Crew, which he had previously hired. There, Morrow built a giant Quantum Battery rigged with a bomb and intended to wipe out all life on Earth and replace it with life he would have created instead, believing to be a god.[4]
Battle[]
- "Robbie, I need you to fight! Get out of that box!"
"We had a deal. Well, let's finish it."
"All teams... go hot." - ―Phil Coulson and Ghost Rider[src]
S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to send a team to apprehend Eli Morrow at the Chinatown Crew Headquarters. Figuring out that they could not take down the now superpowered Morrow by themselves, Phil Coulson and Jeffrey Mace agreed to enlist the assistance of Ghost Rider, Quake and Aida in their endeavor, but Mace insisted that the two vigilantes' presence should remain undisclosed the public. Melinda May was sent to the Radcliffe Residence to pick up Aida, but she was replaced by a Life-Model Decoy.
Once all their forces gathered, S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared to assault the building. Remaining in the Zephyr One, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons warned their colleagues that all the members of the Chinatown Crew had retreated inside the building. Quake, Ghost Rider and Yo-Yo Rodriguez teamed up to perform a recon in the building and while doing so, Rodriguez accidentally activated a cesium-based trap set by Morrow, causing a massive explosion which slightly wounded Rodriguez. While Quake took her to get some medical assistance, Ghost Rider infiltrated the building.
Ghost Rider activated his body cam so S.H.I.E.L.D. could follow his progression and took down two members of the Chinatown Crew before discovering Morrow's giant Quantum Battery. While he investigated it, enabling Fitz to recognize a Demon Core, he was confronted by his uncle. Before he could Reyes could take his Ghost Rider's form, Morrow stabbed him with a carbon spike. Quake intended to go and rescue him, but Fitz and Simmons ordered everyone to return to the Zephyr One.
Fitz and Simmons explained that Morrow had installed a Demon Core in the Quantum Battery, which could trigger a massive nuclear explosion should it be disturbed. With Ghost Rider being captive, they struggled to find another plan until Mace joined them with Aida and Holden Radcliffe. Despite an argument erupting between Mace, Quake and Coulson about the fact that Mace had sent Simmons for a mission ordered by Senator Ellen Nadeer, S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to devise a new plan to arrest Morrow.
While Coulson willfully turned himself over to the Chinatow Crew and was taken by Morrow, Fitz, Simmons, Radcliffe, Aida and Quake infiltrated the building's basement and began building an Inter-Dimensional Gate, with Quake using her powers to contain the seismic waves generated by Morrow while he channeled more and more quantum energy.
Coulson confronted Morrow, trying to convince him to give up on his plans which could cause numerous victims and revealing to Morrow that he was not creating matter out of nothing and instead was stealing energy from Hell. However, Morrow refused to listen to Coulson, prompting the latter to order the assault against the Chinatown Crew.
Mace, May's LMD and Mackenzie arrived and fought against their opponents, assisted by Rodriguez who put a Neodymium Magnet on Morrow's body, which directly attracted him inside his Quantum Battery, where Reyes was still trapped in, while all the Chinatown Crew members were defeated by S.H.I.E.L.D. Reyes eventually managed to take his Ghost Rider's form.
The Inter-Dimensional Gate opened, ready to send the Quantum Battery and the Demon Core within it into Hell. As Quake, Fitz and Simmons ensured that the Gateway kept standing, they were attacked by a member of the Chinatown Crew who shot at them, but Aida shielded the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, falling on the ground before being avenged by Fitz and Simmons who shot the bandit.
As the Inter-Dimensional Gate was close to sending the Battery to Hell, Coulson threw a chain at Ghost Rider to help him get out of the battery. However, upon seeing Morrow attempting to escape, Ghost Rider decided to sacrifice himself and remained in the Battery. He took Morrow and burnt him to death, and as the bomb was on the verge of exploding, the Battery was transported away, taking Ghost Rider with it and preventing the destruction of Los Angeles.
The battle being over, Quake, who had stored too much seismic waves in her gauntlets, made her way outside and released the energy, which propelled her high above the buildings. When she landed, she was found by a horde of journalists who pressured Quake with questions. Mace joined them and explained to the press that Quake had been working with S.H.I.E.L.D. all along.[4]
Aftermath[]
- "According to Director Mace, Quake was never actually a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D. – she was working on an extended undercover operation to take down the anti-Inhuman group the Watchdogs."
- ―News Reporter[src]
Since the public had officially been informed of Quake's involvement in the S.H.I.E.L.D. operation and the Patriot had told that Quake was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, critics against Quake which had begun to arise somehow subsided. Despite their disagreements, especially regarding Quake's method, Mace and Quake agreed to work together, especially in order to rescue Vijay Nadeer, an Inhuman and the brother of Senator Ellen Nadeer.[5]
Mace also expressed gratitude towards Holden Radcliffe and Aida for having helped S.H.I.E.L.D to defeat Morrow. Mace agreed to keep Radcliffe's work active, but only under S.H.I.E.L.D. supervision. Therefore, he sent Nathan B. Nathanson to the Radcliffe Residence to reclaim Radcliffe's data. However, Nathanson discovered Melinda May being sedated, which led to his death at the hands of Aida.[4]
As Robbie Reyes had disappeared, his Hell Charger was reclaimed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and kept in a storage facility until Reyes returned from Hell and retrieved his car.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.07: Deals With Our Devils
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.11: Wake Up
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.06: The Good Samaritan
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.08: The Laws of Inferno Dynamics
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.09: Broken Promises
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.22: World's End