The Arrow, a hero with a copyright skirting name and gimmick, is turned away from joining the superteam by Man-of-War, thanks to refusing to stick to the no-kill rule, which The Protectors are duty (and legally) bound by.

Following a terrorist assault on the secret government personnel behind The Protectors, a traitor is suspected.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team have some time off, and indulge in some fairly mundane pursuits, though Air Man renting a boat to hunt a shark is perhaps more off the wall than the rest of the team’s activities.

The on-duty members assemble to defend the Washington Monument from the Steel Army, and Night Mask has a physical altercation with that colossal tool, Ferret.

As you can probably tell, this is a pretty eventful issue, and it continues to build Night Mask as the most interesting and well developed of the heroes; well, aside from the wholly unlikeable Ferret guy. Seriously, f**k him.

Anyway, next issue we’ll find out just what one of the most infamous comic book sales gimmicks has to do with what actually happens in the comic, and whether or not it was worth getting this far. I bet you can’t wait.