Agent Carter S03E11 Match 17974 Dottie Underwood (Agent Carter) and Joseph Manfredi and The Enforcers vs. Daredevil (Golden Age) and Hammerhead (Marvel) and The Kangaroo

[broadwaybeyonder]

Episode 11: Feudin’ and Fightin’

August 8^th, 1947.  New York City, New York.  The mansion of Howard Stark.  

Fred Wells woke up to find himself handcuffed to the chair he was sitting in.  A cursory glance revealed that he was in a cellar, casks and bottles lining the walls.  Before him stood Daniel Sousa, Peggy Carter, and Dr. Benton.  He looked down at the bandage on his shoulder, then back up to Peggy.  “Very good work, Peg darling,” he said.  “Would it be possible to avail myself of some of Mr. Stark’s stock?  Or does his hospitality only extend so far?”  Peggy took a step toward the chair, but Daniel held out a cautionary arm.  “We’ve treated your injury.  Unless you want a few more I suggest you tell us what we want to know.”  Wells chuckled.  “Oh really?  And why do we have resort to such threats?  Why not go to your friends at the SSR?  Oh wait.  Because they still want dear Miss Adams for the little fracas at the theater.” 

“How did you do it?” Peggy asked steely.  “How did you turn these people into super soldiers?”  Wells nodded to Benton.  “You really should be congratulating the good doctor here.  It wouldn’t have gotten off the ground if it wasn’t for his genius.” 

“What genius?” Benton asked.  “What did you make me do?” 

“Oh, my dear boy.  We didn’t make you do anything.  You wanted to.  Once the Council told you the possibilities of developing a super soldier serum, you practically jumped at the chance.  And you weren’t particularly interested in where your subject came from.”  Sousa crossed over to the chair.  “The Council?  You worked for Vernon Masters?” 

“Of course.  Do you really think your War Department was all on board with the SSR?  Hardly.  If the Council could develop a serum before Erskine perfected his, well.  The possibilities would have been limitless.  On the battlefield and in Washington.”  Peggy walked to the chair, and leaned over, glaring face to face with Wells.  She pressed hard on his injured sholder, making him grown in pain.  “How many soldiers are there?”  Wells gritted his teeth as he replied.  “Five.  Your brother, Miss Adams, Benton, Bruce Carter, and…” 

“Madeline Joyce.”  Peggy turned to face Benton, who looked stunned at the words he was saying.  “Madeline worked as Masters secretary.  Bruce Carter III was an infantryman who had been recovering from shell shock.  Miss Adams had been kidnapped from her USO show.” 

“And Michael?” Peggy asked.  Benton held his head and squinted.  “It’s all too blurry.  They had brought him in, said that he had been given extra combat training.  The idea was to take four different individuals, give each different amounts of the test serum I had developed, then examine the effects.”  

“Wait a minute,” interrupted Daniel.  “You say there were four subjects.  How did you get the serum?”  Benton wiped sweat from his brow, looking at Wells in disgust.  “I gave it to myself.  I remember now.  I thought at first I was doing important work for science, for my country.  But slowly, much too slowly God help me, I saw what I was doing.  Your precious Council was only interested in gaining power and influence for themselves.  You didn’t care what the results of my serum would be.  You just kept pushing me to complete the experiment.  It didn’t matter that I had my doubts about the serum.  For all I knew I might have been injecting poison into their veins!”  Wells rolled his eyes.  “And in a moment of misplaced chivalry, you injected yourself with your serum, satisfied that if the experiment was a failure and your subjects died, you would pay for overstepping your precious morality.  But it wasn’t a failure!  It worked!  The serum gave you strength!” 

“And you trained us, and sent us to strike German targets to prove the effectiveness of your new weapons!” Benton snapped.  Peggy turned back to Wells.  “But in that case, why make them forget their powers?”  Wells looked uncomfortable and cleared his throat.  “There was a slight… hiccup.” 

“A hiccup?!” Benton roared.  “It all went wrong!  The conditioning you gave made us too aggressive!  The first mission we went on, we wound up burning a German village to the ground!”  Benton stopped short, frozen in shock.  “And when it was over, the Council retrieved us, except Daredevil, who had disappeared in the chaos.” 

“The file!” Peggy said, turning to Daniel.  “That must have been the massacre it was talking about!  It wasn’t my file.  It was Michael’s!”

“An unfortunate incident,” Wells went on.  “There were those on the Council who thought we should wash our hands of the whole business and eliminate all of you.  But powers such as yours would be a terrible thing to waste.” 

“So, you had Fennhoff erase their memories and forget about their powers?” asked Daniel. 

“Sadly no.  Fennhoff was a genius, and he’s been very helpful in giving the push our subjects needed to remember their powers.  But some of the old conditioning meant to keep them all placid and calm is still there.”  He grinned and stared at Benton.  “What did mother always say, Benton?” 

“Gentle, gentle,” Benton said without thinking.  Peggy and Daniel stared at him in shock.  Benton’s eyes went wide.  “My God.”  Wells chuckled.  “Good.  Now how about…”  A quick right cross from Peggy sent Wells back into unconsciousness.  She whirled around to face Benton.  “From now on, neither you or Miss Adams is allowed near him.  Do you understand?” 

“Yes, Miss Carter.  I’m sorry I…” 

“I don’t want to hear apologies, Benton!” Peggy snapped.  “Who knows how many mental triggers you have in your head?  Wells could have you kill us all!” 

“Peggy, that’s enough.” Daniel said softly.  But Peggy went on.  “But at least your damned serum works, doctor!  You turned four people into monsters!  Women and men with lives that were meant for better things than being tin soldiers!” 

“Peggy!” Peggy spun to face Daniel, looking at her in stunned silence.  Peggy gasped for breath, then turned and ran out of the cellar, tears welling in her eyes. 

Manhattan, New York City.  The mansion of Silvio Manfredi. 

Count Nefaria strode into the meeting room of the Maggia, flanked by Hammerhead and Kangaroo.  Silvio Manfredi sat at the head of the table with the heads of the other families.  Behind Silvio’s chair were Dottie Underwood and the Enforcers.  No one in the room looked particularly pleased.  “Good evening, friends,” Nefaria said cheerfully.  He moved to his seat, then looked around the room.  “Silvio, where is that boy of yours?  I would have thought he would be in attendance.”  One of the mobsters coughed as Silvio Manfredi drummed on the table with his fingers.  “I have not heard from Joseph these past two days.  Since we haven’t heard from the authorities, I can only assume that he has been killed by these vigilantes.”  Nefaria bowed his head solemnly.  “I’m terribly sorry for your loss, Silvio.”  Silvio glared across the table at Nefaria.  “I am not interested in your condolences, Luchino.  The Maggia was under the impression that your men…” 

“My men!” Costa interrupted.  He fell silent after a stare from Silvio.  “You assured us that with Doctor Harrow’s enhancements they would be more than a match for these people!  Instead, they were sent running with their tails between their legs!”  Nefaria held out his hands and shrugged.  “Losing the first battle does not mean losing the war, Silvio.” 

“Perhaps not,” Silvio replied coldly.  “But it may mean it is time for a change of tactics.” 

Suddenly the door to the conference room burst open.  Joseph Manfredi ran into the room panting for breath.  His suit was torn and disheveled, his hair an unkempt mess.  Silvio struggled to his feet.  “Joseph!  Where have you been, boy?!”  Joseph pointed a long finger at Nefaria and his henchmen.  “Why don’t you ask him?!”  The other Maggia started murmuring amongst each other, and moving away from Nefaria.  Nefaria rose and walked toward Joseph.  “Joseph, my boy.  Your father has been so worried about you.” 

“Shut up!” Joseph snarled.  He started circling the table, not breaking eye contact with Nefaria.  “You want to know where I’ve been?” he said to the Maggia.  “I’ve been dodging these two jamokes!  I overheard Nefaria calling Dmitri to set up a hit, and when I asked him about it, he sent them to try to kill me!” 

Silvio scowled at Nefaria.  “Is this true, Luchino?  You tried to kill my son?!” 

“Silvio, my friend,” Luchino said.  “Please, listen to reason.” 

“Oh, I’ll give you a reason you son of a bitch!” Joseph yelled.  He grabbed a gun out of a coat hanging on a hat rack and aimed it a Nefaria.  Kangaroo and Hammerhead moved into position and the Enforcers and Dottie drew their weapons.  “Stop this!  Stop this now!” Silvio screamed, before giving a wheezing cough.  Nefaria looked at Sivio, and shook his head.  “The leader of the Maggia.  You know why I hired Doctor Harrow, Silvio?  Because under your leadership the Maggia has become just like you: old, weak.  Unable to see what we can truly accomplish.” 

“Would you like me to kill him now, Mr. Manfredi?” Dottie asked.  Silvio returned to his seat, grasping his chest as he attempted to catch his breath.  He glared at Nefaria.  “Yes, Miss Underwood.  And may the devil take you, you… you traitor!”  Nefaria’s eyes narrowed and he smiled.  “I don’t deal with the devil.  The devil deals with me!” 

Daredevil smashed through one of the tall windows of the room and landed on the table of the Maggia.  All the mobsters took a step back in fear as guns were drawn and Nefaria gazed proudly at his living weapons.  “Daredevil?  Hammerhead?  Kangaroo?  Kill them all!” 

Who will win in this battle for control of the Maggia? 

Stay Tuned and Find Out! 

Game On! 

[Callisto]

Learn More About
The Enforcers
Read more about The Enforcers at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Entertainment Links: Wikipedia Comicvine Marvel.com

Dottie Underwood (Agent Carter)
Read more about Dottie Underwood (Agent Carter) at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Links: Wikipedia

Joseph Manfredi
Read more about Joseph Manfredi at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Links: Wikipedia

Hammerhead (Marvel)
Read more about Hammerhead (Marvel) at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Entertainment Links: Wikipedia Comic Vine Marvel.com

Daredevil (Golden Age)
Read more about Daredevil (Golden Age) at Wikipedia
Official Site: Public Domain Links: Wikipedia Project Superpower Wiki Toonopedia

The Kangaroo
Read more about The Kangaroo at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Links: Wikipedia

[broadwaybeyonder]

1947 HITS ARCHIVE: Feudin’ And Fightin’ - Dorothy Shay - YouTube

 

[patrickthekid]

I'm so sorry Peggy.

 

Anyways, this should be a route for the superhumans.

[leroypowell3]

I'll admit I don't know anything about many of these characters but at a glance team 2 seems stronger even if they are outnumbered.

[JohnnyChany]

I'm going with Team 2, I think their combination of abilities will get them the win, even with Team 1 having a former Black Widow.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
5.00 - patrickthekid
4.90 - leroypowell3
5.00 - JohnnyChany

FPA Calculation:
3 Total Votes cast
14.90 Total Combined Score
14.90 / 3 = 4.97 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
Joseph Manfredi and Dottie Underwood (Agent Carter) and The Enforcers: 0
Daredevil (Golden Age) and The Kangaroo and Hammerhead (Marvel): 4

[broadwaybeyonder]

AND NOW THE CONCLUSION

August 8^th, 1947.  Manhattan, New York City.  The mansion of Silvio Manfredi. 

Fancy Dan and Dottie Underwood opened fire at Nefaria’s men.  Kangaroo and Daredevil leapt to the sky and Hammerhead charged straight at them, bullets bouncing off his enforced skull.  Hammerhead’s momentum sent him crashing into Montana as Fancy Dan ran out of his path.  Kangaroo came crashing down on top of Ox, leveling the big man.  Daredevil hurled his boomerang at Joseph, who ducked and returned fire with his pistol.  The other bosses and Silvermane huddled on the far side of the conference room, looking on at the scene. 

Fancy Dan somersaulted across the room toward Daredevil, but was caught by the throat and slammed back first into the oak table.  Dottie grabbed Daredevil in a headlock and squeezed tightly.  “Go to sleep now,” she hissed.  Hammerhead saw his partner in trouble and sprinted head first into Dottie’s back.  She shouted out in pain and released the hold, falling to the ground nursing her ribs.  Daredevil staggered up to his feet, only to have Montana’s lasso wrap around his upper chest, pinning his arms.  Montana held the other end tightly as he shouted to Joseph.  “I got ‘im, Mr. Manfredi!  Finish this yahoo!”  Joseph raised his pistol and aimed it at Daredevil, still struggling to free himself.  Joseph squinted as his target, and fired. 

Montana stood frozen for a second, then his hands went limp.  The lasso dropped from his lifeless hands, followed by Montana himself falling to the floor.  Blood began to drip the bullet hole in his forehead.  The bosses and Silvio Manfredi all looked shocked, as Joseph Manfredi, showing no emotion on his face, slowly walked to the still prone Fancy Dan, pistol still at the ready.  He looked up in disbelief at Joseph.  “Joey, pally, what are you…” Dan’s voice was drowned out by the gunshot implanting the bullet into his brain.  Joseph strode around the table to where Ox was sat on the floor, his back propped up against the wall.  “Mr. Manfredi,” he said, more dumbfounded than usual.  “Why you have to go and do that?  Dan and Montana are good guys.”  Joseph Manfredi raised his pistol once again.  “I’m sorry,” he said in a Russian sounding accent.  “I’m afraid you have me confused with someone else.”  Another gunshot, and the final Enforcer joined his comrades. 

Silvio Manfredi looked at his son as he wiped off his weapon.  “Joseph,” he said, his voice barely audible.  “What have you done?”  Joseph cocked his head.  “I have done what is necessary for the survival of the Maggia, Mr. Manfredi.”  With that, “Joseph” reached behind his head, and pulled off his latex mask, revealing the white headpiece of Dmitri.  Silvio fell back, being caught by the other Maggia bosses.  “Dmitri!  You have betrayed me, as well?!”  Dmitri slowly started walking over to Dottie, who had risen to her knees.  “My only loyalty is to the Maggia, Mr. Manfredi.  Not you.”  Dottie looked up glaring in defiance as Dmitri took aim. 

“Hold, Dmitri,” Nefaria said calmly.  “I think we still have a role for this one.”  Dmitri holstered his gun and Dottie stood up clutching her ribs.  She looked at Nefaria in confusion.  “And what role would that be?” 

“Why, to assist me in elevating the Maggia into the power it was meant to be.”  He motioned to Hammerhead, Kangaroo, and Daredevil.  “A power enforced by enhanced individuals like these.  And I would be so glad to have an agent of Leviathan in the fold.” 

“What in God’s name are you talking about?!” shouted Silvermane.  “I lead the Maggia!  What have you done with my son?” 

“Oh, shut up,” Dottie said.  Silvio bristled as Dottie turned her attention to Nefaria.  “How did you know I was in Leviathan?”  Nefaria’s smile grew.  “My dear, Miss Underwood, I am Leviathan.  Who do you suppose was sending you those messages through the remote typewriter?  Who gave you the orders on how to use Howard Stark’s Midnight Oil last year?”  Dottie’s eyes widened.  She starting breathing faster, trying to asses the situation.  “But… but, why wasn’t I informed?  If this is a Leviathan operation, why didn’t you tell me?  I was loyal.  I didn’t tell the SSR anything.” 

“Your silence didn’t matter to me, Miss Underwood,” said Nefaria matter-of-factly.  “It is your focus.  Not only did you fail your mission, you allowed your obsession with Agent Carter to distract you.  I have seen your skills have not waned through the years.  Leviathan as an organization is no more, but we still have much work to do.  And I would be willing to let you assist in our work again.”  He paused, and nodded to Dmitri.  Dmitri pulled out his pistol and held it out to Dottie.  “Of course,” Nefaria went on, glancing up at the baffled Silvermane and the other bosses.  “There is one thing I would need you to do to prove your dedication to our cause.” 

No sooner had the words left his lips that Dottie had grabbed the pistol and strode with purpose toward Silvio.  He staggered back in fear as the other bosses backed away.  “No!  You work for me!” Nefaria pleaded.  “I lead Maggia! I’m Silvio Manfredi!  I’m…” 

One bullet from Dottie’s pistol, and Silvio ‘Silvermane’ Manfredi dropped dead to the floor.  Dottie sighed, then turned with a smile back to Nefaria.  “To be honest, I was getting a little bored with him anyway.  So, what are your orders, sir?”  Nefaria looked at the other bosses.  “First, I hereby nominate myself as the new head of the Maggia.  If there are no objections?”  The bosses nodded in silence as they gazed at Nefaria’s henchmen.  Nefaria smirked as he paced the room.  “Such a lack of vision.  You all rule over a few blocks, thinking you have power because you can run protection rackets or rob banks or have irritants killed.  That isn’t power.  All told, the Maggia consists of thousands of members.  An army of the most bloodthirsty men on this Earth!  But suppose we could be more?  Suppose that, within each of your gangs, there were men like Kangaroo and Hammerhead?  Men who could break through safes with their bare hands!  Men who could fire a hundred shots and not miss once!  Men who could fly over a prison wall and lay waste to an entire platoon single handed!”  The bosses murmured as Nefaria pointed toward Daredevil.  “Several months ago, I was approached by a man.  He was an operative of an organization called the Council of Nine.  He told me that after many years of searching, he finally was able to locate and secure my devilish friend here.  And he told me that he was one of five other powered individuals, created in a foolhardy experiment to develop a super soldier serum.  With my source’s information, I was able to find and awaken these soldiers, in order to test the effectiveness of the powers granted by the serum, and to expose the weakness of our former leader.  I even arranged my own assassination attempt at the theater to see these miracles of science in action first hand.”  He gazed proudly at Daredevil, who remained standing at attention.  “I must say I am impressed with the results.  Think of it, gentlemen!  Imagine a world where the Maggia no longer would be bothering with petty crimes on street corners.  We would be able to take the world for ourselves!”  Dmitri walked to Nefaria’s side, and pulled out the Arena Club pin from his pocket.  He handed it to Nefaria, who revealed the concealed key.  “Well, gentlemen,” he said holding up the key with a sinister smile.  “There is no need to imagine.  Because with this key, we shall be gods!” 

August 9^th, 1947.   New York City, New York.  The mansion of Howard Stark. 

Peggy looked grim as she sat at the dining room table.  Her allies awkwardly went through the motions of eating their breakfast prepared Jarvis.  Jack Thompson had flown in from California the night before and had been telling them about the incidents in Los Angeles.  He sat next to Daniel and looked wary at Benton and Diana across from them.  Angie sipped her orange juice and Howard drank a Bloody Mary as Jack gathered his thoughts.  “So Bruce Carter and these two were a part of some plan by Masters and the Council to create their own Captain America?”  Daniel nodded.  “As best as we can figure out.” 

“Fennhoff was able to weaken the mental blocks that the Council had put in to make us forget,” Benton said, glancing towards Peggy.  “But we can only remember bits of pieces,” said Diana.  She looked Jack over with a suggestive smile.  “Maybe you could help me remember?  Jog my memory?”  Benton nudged  Diana under the table, and Jack coughed and got up from his chair.  “Still doesn’t add up.  A guy pretends to be Manfredi to get access to the hospital to set up the hit on Carter.  If he’s Maggia, why does he kill Manfredi’s guys?” 

“It’s a coup,” Peggy spoke up.  The other’s turned, startled by Peggy’s sudden voice.  Jarvis walked into the room carrying a tray of eggs and toast.  “If nothing else is required, I shall see to our… guest in the wine cellar.” 

“You shouldn’t go down there by yourself,” Daniel said.  Angie wiped her face with a napkin and got up to meet Jarvis.  “I’ll go along.  It’s not every day a girl gets to meet a fella tied to a chair.”  Peggy gave a warning look to Angie.  “Keep your distance, Angie.  Let Mr. Jarvis serve Wells, and if anything goes wrong, give a shout.”  Angie threw a salute and grinned.  “Yes, ma’am!”  Angie’s smile faded under Peggy’s gaze.  Peggy sighed.  “Just be careful, Ang.”  Angie nodded and followed after Jarvis as they walked down the stairs that led to the cellar. 

Jack cleared his throat again.  “So, Peggy, what are you talking about a coup?”  Peggy gingerly rose from her seat, letting her hands rest on the table.  “Someone has been orchestrating these attacks on the Maggia, while also acquiring that key that we know belonged to the Council.   We know that the Council chose to keep the five of you alive just in case the need arose.  What if they saved some of your serum, as well?”  Benton and Diana shared a worried look.  “I can vaguely remember our testing site,” said Benton.  “It was where I had the five of us run tests and store our equipment.” 

“And it was all locked up,” Diana said, her face taut with concentration.  “You said…  you told us that no one could get in to the bunker without authorization, and if anyone tried, the whole place would self-destruct.”  Diana looked up to Peggy.  “I get it!  That’s why they need this key you’re talking about!  They need it to get inside the bunker!” 

“A bunker that could contain notes on your experiments and perhaps even more doses of your serum,” Peggy finished.  “If the Maggia could get their hands on it, and create their own super soldiers…”   

A scream rang out through the cellar door.  Peggy’s face went pale.  “Angie!”  She bolted for the door followed by Howard and Jack.  She raced past rows of bottles and casks before coming to a stop where they had left Wells.  Jarvis was down on the floor nursing his head.  He was sprawled out among the smashed remains of the chair Wells had been tied to.  In his hands he held a broken end of a wine bottle as he stood behind Angie and held the edge to her throat.

Next Time: Anyone Else But Me!