The “Fear Itself” tie-ins continue to roll in. This one, however, is a little different in that it is a “Fear Itself”/ “Civil War” tie-in. Of sorts. The Fifty State Initiative (which was the impetus for the title “Avengers Initiative”) was instituted during the Superhuman Registration Act that spun out of the events of “Civil War.” The Initiative was a training facility for younger/newer heroes. Many of those heroes are reintroduced in this issue.

Picking up somewhere in the neighborhood of “Fear Itself” #2, the hammers have been disbursed and the worthy begin to find them, fueling the hysteria and uneasiness across the world and specifically in the United States. So Commander Steve Rogers does what any commander should do: he rallies the troops. In this case, the troops are many of the kids that served in the Fifty State Initiative: Hardball, Komodo, Prodigy, Ultragirl, Red Nine, and Gravity, among others. Oh. And Thor Girl. Sean McKeever even added in Firestar for good measure. McKeever has a good handle on most of these characters, and it was good to see some of the relationships explored again.

Needless to say, Thor Girl has a prominent role in this issue, which is certainly to be expected considering the Asgardian nature of the threat. While I haven’t noticed it in other “Fear Itself” books, the public here, as written by McKeever, seems pretty keen on the Asgardian aspect, which, naturally, leads to trouble for Thor Girl and provides a nice cliffhanger for the end of this issue.

The art in this issue is filled with Mike Norton moments as only Norton can deliver them. Norton’s storytelling, characters, and expressions are magnificent. While I’m not familiar with Veronica Gandini, her colors complement Norton’s work and really make this book look and feel like a superhero adventure.

This is a fine compliment to the main action of “Fear Itself.” Beyond that, it provides fans of the “Initiative” crowd of heroes (or even the Young Allies) with the opportunity to find those characters active in an adventure once more. Even better, this adventure looks to be a fun read with great art.