THE DAILY GLOBE, SUNDAY EDITION, NOVEMBER 24TH, 1963
HEADLINE: GOVERNOR PRESTON SMITH CLAIMS ALLEGED COMMUNIST SUPPORT OF THE MASTERS OF EVIL, DEMANDS INVESTIGATION. RUSSIA AND CHINA DENY INVOLVEMENT!
"The newly appointed governor of Texas, Preston Smith, having taken up the office just a few short days following the tragic death of John Connally in the Dallas attack, has today made accusations that the so-called Masters Of Evil may have recieved support from hostile communist forces abroad, though what this support is supposed to have entailed is not specified. Governor Smith claims the proof of this involvement is the inclusion of Russian national Aleksei Sytsevich and Chinese national Chen Lu, better known to the American public as The Rhino and The Radioactive Man respectively. These accusations have been firmly denied by Russian and Chinese officials, and has recieved no support from the Kennedy administration.
Both Sytsevich and Lu have been disavowed by their respective home nations once they began their criminal careers, with both countries condemning their actions. However, anti-Soviet critics claim this is simply a transparent attempt at avoiding political fallout..."
....
"Wow, didn't think fatty had it in him" Quicksilver said as the radio broadcast cut away to a commercial break for the moment. The Brotherhood stood assembled in the main reception room of Asteroid M, listening in on the news coming in from below. Magneto ignored the comment, staring out the large window from his throne, giving him a glorious view of Earth.
From up here it all looked so small. All it's problems so... inconsequential. If only it were so...
At his side, Mastermind scoffed "What a joke, all that work, and for what? To save a bunch of baseline nothings? Hell, that Zemo guy doesn't even have any powers, how hard could it be to take down a German in a silly hat? Besides, not like that Sunshine beatnik did all that much, he had to get his Avenger pals to do most of the heavy lifting!"
"Please Mastermind, we all know you just hate him because your illusions won't do dick against him. You might as well be trying to fool him with shadow puppets for all the good you did."
"Brother, that's enough" Wanda admonished her brother, before turning to their leader "Lord Magneto, I worry how this will affect your plans... Before we could rely on our relative obscurity to strike in secret, but now, the world, or atleast the U.S, will be on their guard. Maybe you should reconsider-"
"This changes nothing" Magneto said, his voice hard, as he rose from his throne, floating over towards the window "The Avengers battle with Zemo and his cronies have merely complicated matters somewhat, but it means nothing in the long run. Our invasion of San Marco will commence as planned. From there, our plans for a mutant homeland can begin in earnest. Charles and his misguided children will NOT stop us this time, and neither will Sunshine or his Avenger pets!"
...
THE DAILY BUGLE, SUNDAY EDITION, NOVEMBER 24TH, 1963
HEADLINE: BARON HEINRICH ZEMO - THE MOST HATED MAN IN EUROPE
STORY BY: J. Jonah Jameson
"With our nation still reeling from a devastating blow, Americans all across the country are asking questions. How could this happen? Why did it happen? And perhaps most of all, who are the monsters behind this heinous attack? The self-proclaimed Masters Of Evil, a group of murderers, thieves and freaks, are already known to the wider public for the most part, with perhaps one exception - the man behind the assassination attempt, Baron Zemo! For many readers, this might be the first time they've ever heard this name, but for those of us with longer memories, those of us who went overseas to fight against the Nazi jackboot, it's a name we'd have hoped would be consigned to history....
20 years ago, Baron Heinrich Zemo was the mastermind behind some of the worst atrocities committed by the Third Reich, horrors that made even his own countrymen despise him! I myself was unfortunate enough to witness the aftermath of one of his "projects" during my time as a war reporter in Europe, and even among the horrors I recorded there, the actions of Heinrich Zemo still haunt me. An entire town dead, wiped out, just to test out one of Zemo's mad devices, a GERMAN town at that, simply because it was a convenient target full of people. This one action made Zemo a pariah even among the rest of the Nazi party and solidified his reputation as The Most Hated Man in Europe, which was up against some pretty stiff competition in those days, as readers might imagine. It was only by hiding his face under a mask, and the continued support of the higher ranks of Nazi Germany, that Zemo was able to keep his position.
So how did Zemo escape justice for so long? And perhaps more chillingly, are there others like him out there who also managed to hide away in the dark corners of the world, still waiting to rise again to this day?
MORE ON PAGE 5....
.....
"Read my lips, Robbie! I'm not doing it!"
Robert "Robbie" Robertson, co-editor of the Daily Bugle, rubbed at his temple, trying to force back the beginning headache he could feel forming behind his forehead, the usual result of trying to reason with the brick wall of sheer stubborness that was J. Jonah Jameson.
"Jonah, whatever problem you have with Spider-Man, even YOU have to admit that Spider-Man was on the good guys side this time! Our readers are going to expect SOME mention of him, no matter how you feel about it."
"I. Don't. Care" Jonah forced out, his teeth almost chewing through his cigar "He's up to something, I can feel it! I might not know what the Spiders end game is, but I'm telling you, there's something suspicious about all of it, he just HAPPENED to be in Dallas just when the Masters showed up! Hah, that's likely! Maybe he wasn't on their side, but he was up to something down there, I'm sure of it!"
Robbie sighed, feeling himself losing the battle against his headache "For all that is holy, Jonah, what will it take for you to admit that maybe you were wrong about Spider-Man? He SAVED THE PRESIDENT, I literally cannot think of a more non-evil act!"
"Robbie, we've been friends for a long time, so I'm going to be perfectly honest with you" Jonah said, suddenly eerily calm as he stubbed out the ruined cigar in the ashtray on his desk "The Allmighty himself could descend down from the heavens, proclaiming Spider-Man the incarnation of virtue on Earth, and I'd still have my suspicions about him!" Ignoring Robbie's stunned expression, Jonah sat back down, glancing over the text currently sitting in his typewriter "So I'm not joking when I say that I will never, under threat of death, print a positive word about Spider-Man in my paper. I will simply avoid mentioning him at all for the time being, but he's going to slip up eventually, and that's when we'll have him cornered! Until then, there are other parts of this whole story to cover, so get to it!"
Robbie might have slammed the office door closed a little harder than necessary on his way out
.....
NBC Radio News On The Hour, November 25th, 1963, Noon Broadcast
ANNOUNCER: This is NBC Radio News On the Hour, Brought to you by Wings Friction-Proofing Products, To Prevent Car Trouble, from Radiator to Gas Tank! Now here's Martin Agronsky - NBC News!
AGRONSKY: President Kennedy announced today that he will be awarding the Presidential Medal Of Freedom to each member of The Avengers, in recognition for their defeat of The Masters of Evil, as well as their efforts to rescue civilians during the attack in Dallas three days ago. This medal, which is the highest honor that the United States can bestow a civilian, will be presented to each individual member of the team at a special ceremony at the White House at a to-be-revealed date. It has also been announced that Captain America will also be presented with the Medal Of Honor at the same ceremony, a decision that the President claims, and I quote, "was long overdue". The announcement has been met with some level of controversy, especially from President Kennedy's political opponents, such as Governor George Wallace, and Senator Barry Goldwater, with criticism being aimed at the civilian identities of The Avengers being secret, as well as the dubious reputation of certain members of the group, though no names were stated. President Kennedy has refuted this critique, stating that neither issue is in any way a requirement for the award, which merely states that the recepient has made a very signifigant contribution to the security or interest of the United States. More news after these messages from Wings Friction Proofing...
*commercial jingle plays*
.....
"Mr Stark! Mr Stark, over here!"
Tony Stark moved his face away slightly to avoid being blinded by the flash of the camera, taught by long experience, as he hoisted himself out of the backseat of the car while Happy held the door open. Seeing reporters hanging around outside Stark Industries was nothing new of course, but since he'd started his second life as Iron Man, the experience had gotten surreal. And somehow, despite his years of playboy debauchery that preceeded it, nothing he'd done before ever made him quite as skeevy as trying to talk up what an amazing person Iron Man was, even if no one knew that he was really talking about himself.
A balding man in a worn fedora and a trenchcoat that had seen better days, managed to push himself to the front, clutching a microphone "Mr Stark, any comments on President Kennedy's announcement this morning? How do you feel about your bodyguard recieving the Medal of Freedom?"
Wincing inwardly, Stark put on his best poker face "As I've said before, I couldn't be more proud over Iron Man's contribution to the Dallas fight, it simply proves once again that I was right to entrust him with the armor. If the President sees fit to reward him for it, I certainly have no complaints."
Another reporter pushed up, this time a woman in immaculate dress and makeup "And what's your opinion on some of the comments that not all of The Avengers are appropriate choices for such a prestigious award?"
This time, he couldn't quite hold back the look of anger that passed over his face "MY opinion? I think certain senators should try getting into a fistfight with a superpowered psychopath in a rhino costume themselves before they run their fat mouths next time!"
He ignored the rest of the questions, letting Happy clear the way as he darted inside, his good mood ruined.