Paperinik is arrested by Westcock and brought to the Department 51. Ziggy sees him and alerts Mary Ann Flaggstar. What they don't know, however, is that it's a plan the hero and Wisecube formulated together to put their hands on a virus that could save Earth from the Evronian invasion...
Tropes Present In This Issue:
- Almighty Janitor: It turns out that Ziggy, the errand boy of Channel 00, had PBI training.
- Area51: Technically called "Department", but it's practically the same.
- Ascended Extra: Ziggy had appeared since issue #3, but you may be forgiven for not noticing him before.
- Bait-and-Switch: Initially it seems like Ziggy and Mary Ann were a couple with a nasty breakout. Instead,they are siblings.
- Batman Gambit: Thanks to One's hacking, Wisecube makes Westcock believe he has been ordered to arrest Paperinik and bring him to Department 51. Once he is there, Wisecube will give One complete access to their network and Paperinik will cause enough commotion to allow the general to take what they need. Of course it doesn't work as planned.
- Berserk Button: Ziggy really hates secrets: it's the reason why he left the PBI. However, at the end of the issues, he chooses to keep the secret about the Evronians,mostly to not fight his own sister.
- Brother–Sister Team: What Ziggy and Mary Ann are.
- Continuity Nod: The events of #13 "The Darkest Night" are referenced. Private Janson from that issue (and #6 "Spores") returns.
- Elaborate Underground Base: Department 51 must be pretty deep, since it goes down for 78 levels.
- Family-Friendly Firearms: Averted once again: all the humans use regular firearms.
- Freudian Slip: Paperinik calls Ziggy with his name. When Mary Ann asks how could he know his name, he nervously says that superheroes know everything.
- From Bad to Worse: If Paperinik running around the base, two misterious spies joining him, Wisecube stealing something top secret and One controlling their systems weren't enough, now Department 51 has to face an evronian attack.
- Grudging Respect: Westcock still has no simpathy for Paperinik, but acknowledges the hero's efforts to defend his base from the Evronians.
- Heroic Hacker: One aside, Ziggy also shows good skills with a computer.
- Noodle Incident: The room containing the antievronian virus (actually a datapack with secret information) has boxes labeled "First Martian Invasion", "War of Venus" and a mission on the Moon that happened years before 1969.
- Red Shirt Army: Averted: with Paperinik's help, the army is able to repel the Evronians.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!!: Wisecube tries to steal the proof that his government was secretely dealing with the Evronians and inform the public.
- Flaggstar's authority is nix inside the Department, but after a little push from Ziggy she goes to help Paperinik.
- Secret-Keeper: Mary Ann is one of the few people not in the Army to know about the Evronians. At the end his brother learns of them too.
- Spanner in the Works / For Want Of A Nail: Had Ziggy not seen Paperinik in the subway, the whole issue (and possibly the series) would have been much more different.
- Trojan Horse: Paperinik getting arrested and brought to the base is all part of a plan.
- Unwitting Pawn: Paperinik, Janson and One to Wisecube: instead of helping him to take the antievronian virus like they think, he is using them to steal highly classified information.
- The Virus: The U.S. Army has one that forces the Evronians to regress to their spore-state.It's actually a lie Wisecube is telling to get Paperinik to help.
