ACT 1: The story opens in Stamford Connecticut. Speedball and fellow members of the New Warriors, Night Thrasher, Namorita and Microbe, are partaking in a TV reality-show in which they track and battle super-villains. They arrive outside a non-descriptive house in Stamford, where four villains, Coldheart, Nitro, Speedfreek and Cobalt Man, are presumably hiding. While taking out the trash, one of the villains notices the young heroes and a battle naturally ensues. All but Nitro are rather easily taken down by the New Warriors. The latter tries to escape but Namorita corners him and slams him into a nearby school bus. Nitro retaliates by unleashing a devastating explosion that obliterates a nearby school and most of the small town of Stamford. In response to this unforgettable event, the government decides to reopen the debate forcing super-powered beings to register their secret identity with the government or else face prosecution

ACT 2: Superheroes gather together in Stamford to help find survivors and generally clean up. Iron Man informs Captain America that Nitro was spotted fleeing the scene in the back of a pick-up truck but Cap could care less for now, as he is too upset with the amount of lives that were lost for a reality show. The X-Men and a squad of Sentinels are there as well. Witnessing first-handedly such destruction and devastation leads the superhero known as Goliath to declare that this is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

ACT 3: Tony Stark attends a memorial service for the Stamford victims and is blasted by an angry mother whose child perished in the explosion. The whole superhero community in general feels the backlash of the incident and many of them are blamed for the incident. Due to this, many superheroes, most notably Johnny Storm (a.k.a. the Human Torch), are attacked in public by angry civilians.

ACT 4: To try and deal with the uprising of the population, heroes meet at the Baxter Building to discuss the Superhero Registration Act. Under the Act, the heroes would be given assignments by the government along with salaries and benefits. The major drawback of this is that heroes would also have to give up their secret identities. Obviously, the heroes are split on the issue.

ACT 5: Meanwhile, on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Commander Maria Hill tries to entice Captain America to join them on a team that will force superheroes to register by tracking them down and arresting them. Taken aback by Hill’s proposal, Cap refuses so Hill orders her men to take him down. Cap fiercely defends himself and makes his way out of the Helicarrier by hitching a ride on a nearby F16.

ACT 6: Back at the Baxter Building, Uatu, the Watcher arrives. Obviously, his arrival does not bode well because the Watcher usually only appears when events of universal proportions are about to take place.

At issue’s end, Iron Man shows up at a meeting with the President of the United States and tells him and the other attendees to push ahead with the Superhero Registration Act and that, he, Mister Fantastic and Yellowjacket will take care of Captain America.

To be continued in Civil War #2.