Fictional Team History
The Liberators first appear in Ultimates 2 #9 amid the chaos and destruction caused by the initial surprise attack by the foot soldiers. Previously in the series, there were numerous conspiring events responsible for weakening the United States and the Ultimates' power and strength. Some, the coalition had influenced, other events they simply took advantage of.
In Ultimates 2 #9, the Liberators' contingent forces bring down all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarriers on the Triskelion, and the Liberators appear and begin their attack on America. The coalition's soldiers dispatch the Ultimate Reserves and capture General Nick Fury, Betty Ross, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Fury loses an arm in the process; he is given temporary medical care by his captors so as to be alive for later public executions. Within an hour, key facilities (such as major military and nuclear facilities, the Triskellion, the Baxter Building, and Xavier Mansion) have been captured and major cities (such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, and New York) have been restrained and controlled. They then topple the Statue of Liberty and upload a video of it on the Internet to display their power.
The Ultron robots, created by Hank Pym keep the peace and minimize civilian casualties during the occupation. All the Ultimates, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man are by this time captured and accounted for, except for the Wasp. Loki plans a public execution of all U.S. superhumans and the President at midnight.
Ultimates 2 #10 flashes back to an overview of the powers of each member of the Liberators, in the form of a presentation given beneath the Louvre in Paris, France. Also in this issue, Hawkeye escapes his captors- exploiting the fact that they left him his fingernails, he literally tears out his nails to use as weapons. Black Widow reveals herself as a traitor to Iron Man and kills Jarvis. Tony disables her after downloading information on the Liberators from her via the nanites he gave her back in issue #4. He also uses a wine bottle to help subdue her.
In Ultimates 2 #11, Hawkeye frees Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Betty Ross and General Fury from captivity in the Oval Office. Captain America is freed by The Wasp. After joining forces with Hawkeye and the others, the group is attacked by dozens of coalition soldiers, The Swarm, Hurricane, and The Abomination. In the final pages, Hulk arrives, Banner transforming after being stepped on by one of the Crimson Dynamo robots. Banner proclaims that he's now 'in touch with his inner sociopath'.
In Ultimates 2 #12, the Hulk fights and kills The Abomination. Hawkeye and Captain America fight the Colonel. Hulk uses Captain America's shield to cut off the Colonel's hands and Captain America subsequently stabs the Colonel through the heart with his own weapon. Quicksilver proves himself faster than Hurricane by moving her at increasing speeds until she liquefies. Wasp injects herself with a new version of the Giant-Man formula that Hank gave her, subsequently stepping on Swarm. Nick Fury and Betty Ross rescue the President. Hawkeye evacuates the Vice President and his family. Iron Man descends in a suit more like a ship than an armor, and destroys the Crimson Dynamo and his robots. Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the EDI super-soldiers fight off the rest of the Liberator's soldiers. Only Perun remains.
His group's success in peril, Loki reveals his full powers, rising above the fight and turning the sky orange. The Scarlet Witch responds by summoning Thor in the final page of issue #12, by increasing the odds of "someone showing up to kick ass".
In "Ultimates 2" #13, Thor breaks out of an illusion created by Loki. Thor apparently kills Loki, who disproves this by getting on his knees and summoning a great serpent (possibly analogous to Jormungand, the World Serpent). Loki flies away, summoning a great many mythical creatures including giant wolves, giants, trolls, goblins, dragons) Thor kills the serpent and proceeds to battle Loki and some of his duplicates. Norse warriors arrive and a titanic battle occurs with the Ultimates and the Asgardian Warriors against the summoned creatures. When Loki is defeated all the mythical creatures disappear; these events prove to the Ultimates that Thor's claims to be the genuine God of Thunder are true. With all of his friends dead, Perun surrenders, and the Ultimates unanimously agree that they must be independent from the government or risk another similar event. Hawkeye kills the Black Widow in retribution of his family. It is revealed that Tony Stark will be funding future Ultimates activities and that he is upset about the Black Widow's betrayal and death, until a passing blonde catches his interest. Hank Pym is at least temporarily locked away in the Triskelion, and the whereabouts of Bruce Banner are unrevealed as of yet. The issue ends with a flashback of Captain America and his then-fiancee, Gail, shortly before the super-soldier experiments were done on him.
The Liberators later appear in Ultimate X-Men #75 as holograms during a Danger Room exercise. The Colonel also briefly appears on a TV screen in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2.
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