The question of how supervillains recruit henchmen is rarely explored in the world of Marvel Comics. Even allowing for a poor economy, the pickings should be slim for any aspiring mastermind. There are only so many potential goons desperate enough to risk getting punched by Spider-Man for the sake of a paycheck.
White Widow #3 by Sarah Gailey and Alessandro Miracolo reveals how one evil organization has overcome this issue by offering healthcare to its minions. Earlier issues found Yelena Belova investigating the sinister Armament Corporation, which was threatening to evict her neighbors. Yelena happened to be present when her neighbor Rowan was targeted by three of Armament’s security officers.
How Marvel Armament Company Recruits Henchmen
Yelena recognized one of the guards as Baxta, an assassin she once fought alongside Wolverine. Baxta explained that she was part of Armament’s new AAA program for Augmented Ambassadors. This program offered injured soldiers cybernetic upgrades in exchange for several years of service to Armament. The program also included a semi-comprehensive health insurance plan, with dental, along with a steady paycheck.
Ironically, Rowan, who was also employed by Armament, was not upset by the attack. Yelena feared that he was being targeted after tumbling across the company’s corruption. It turned out that Armament picked random employees to act as “targets” for training their AAA agents. This revelation only strengthened Rowan’s belief that Armament is “like a family” if they went so far as to train their personnel and offer medical aid to injured soldiers.
Yelena Belova was skeptical, even before she recognized the head of Armament as a woman from her past with the Red Room. This suggests there truly is something sinister at the heart of Armament. It also shows how far some people will go for a decent job in the Marvel Universe.
White Widow #3 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
