Charlton VS Mighty MLJ

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Team-Up Tuesdays: The Mole Within the Crusaders

While recounting the history of the Mighty Crusaders, from their last published appearance until the present day wherein the Brain Emperor had seemingly destroyed most of them, Dusty told his old friend Roy about the insidious Captain Kold. As now no more than a puppet team within a larger governmental organization, the Crusaders lost their autonomy and were reduced to a super-powered police unit dispatched towards such adversaries as Omega 8, themselves the tools sent forth by the mysterious Delta 3 criminal triad. However, something much more devious was in play that threatened the integrity of the Mighty heroes! A mole!
 
Yes, a mole planted within the Crusaders with the intent of funneling information about the teams activities and then manipulating it from within! As shown, a division quickly formed leading to 9 of the 10 members picking a side. Web, Fly Girl, Fireball and Steel Sterling supported Shield's stance that they keep the status quo, while Fox, Comet, Jaguar joined Black Hood's cause to flush out the mole and root out any influence from outside their team. Notice who was missing? Thomas Troy aka the Fly, himself recently the subject of a criminal proceeding that stripped him of his career, his friends, his reputation.
 
Although he was vindicated in the end, thanks in part due to the Shield's support, this perhaps caused a rift between himself and his fellow Crusaders. After Fly Girl gave birth to his daughter, Troy left the country and moved to Japan, possible due to his role in Captain Kold's scheme if in fact he was the mole. And so, leaving behind his costumed career for a new start, Troy forsook his alter ego as the Winged Warrior. What role he will play in the future in unknown.
 
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The Fly's counterpart on another world, the Blue Beetle always did work best alone although his friendships with his fellow superheroes such as Captain Atom remained solid for decades to come.