Gauntlet's History
Early years
Sergeant Joseph Green was a highly decorated US military member. After a pair of aliens dueled above Earth using immensely destructive weapons, killing each other and burning up on entry, their weapons were left intact but scattered around the world. US satellites immediately began tracking these objects, following one as it landed in the Sudanese desert. Discovering Hydra had also tracked the objects, a special team was dispatched by the government to attempt to get to the item before the terrorists. Among the troops tasked with the item's retrieval was Joseph Green, a highly-decorated army sergeant. Arriving at the crash site, Green's group immediately came under fire from Hydra forces, immediately suffering casualties. Knowing that the item's retrieval was the main objective, Green left his associates to handle the terrorists while he went after the item.
Arriving at the crash site and finding not one, but two items of the Gauntlet Armor (a gauntlet and a sword), Green was also met by a Hydra agent. Drawing their guns to fire, the two of them found those jammed with sand, leading to a physical confrontation between the two. When the two soldiers were momentarily separated, the Hydra agent went for the more powerful (and heavier) of the objects, while Green went for the large gauntlet-like object. Putting it on, Green made short work of the Hydra agent, then discovered he was incapable of removing the gauntlet. He returned to his government with the gauntlet and the alien sword. Unable to remove the device from his arm, he was dubbed Gauntlet. Eventually, Green was stationed in the Middle East protecting American troops, notably in Iraq.
The Initiative
Green served overseas until transferred by Secretary Gyrich to join the Initiative and work as a drill sergeant. Gauntlet disapproved of this choice, feeling he was more needed in the field, but Gyrich explained to him that since M-Day, the majority of metahumans were located in the US, and Gauntlet would train an American army of super heroes.
At Camp Hammond, Green began training a new batch of recruits consisting of Trauma, Cloud 9, Bengal, Ultragirl, Slapstick, Hardball, Thor Girl, Rage, Komodo, and Armory. Green was monitoring the first training exercise between Armory and Trauma, along with Gyrich and Baron von Blitzschlag, when Trauma evoked Armory's greatest fear. Armory lost control and fired her Tactigon (the weapon wielded by the Gauntlet Armor's alien enemy) wildly around the training room. Green got the panicked Armory under control but not before she had shot MVP in the head, killing him instantly. Armory washed out of the Initiative and the Tactigon was removed from her arm. The team was informed by Gyrich that the entire incident had never happened.
Green led the trainees into their first combat against the Terror-Carrier when Hydra threatened the US President in Texas. He later assisted in attempts to reuse the Tactigon, which were called off after fifty men tried without success to activate the weapon.
Using the name of the New Warriors as a pejorative and derogatory term to designate poor-skilled and irresponsible super-humans, he soon earned the ire of former members, both part of the Initiative staff (such as Justice), or trainees (like Rage). He pushed them even harder on that subject after the cadets' disobedience during the invasion of New York by the Hulk.
Coma
Justice had originally brought MVP into the Initiative, and was shocked to discover MVP still alive at his home in Kentucky. As witness to MVP's accident, Justice concluded that Gauntlet was responsible for MVP's death. The two almost fought, as Green again insulted the baby-killing New Warriors to Justice's face. The two were restrained by their cadets Ultragirl, Thor Girl, and Debrii. Later, Rage answered a similar insult by telling Green to "shut [his] freakin' hole", leading Green to explain to him that he was one step from washing out.
The day after, Gauntlet received a severe beating at the hands of Slapstick, leaving him in a coma. He was found by Tigra and "Yellowjacket". Consequently, all New Warriors on base (Slapstick, Rage, Debrii, Ultra Girl, and staff member Justice) were put in the brig and two S.H.I.E.L.D. Cape-Killers were sent to act as Military Police: Special Agent Marquez and Agent McAllister.
As the Cape-Killers were close to discovering some of the base's secrets (including the ones related to MVP), Gyrich chose to awake Green briefly using a powerful stimulant injected by "Hank Pym", who made him tell his "official record" on how he had been assaulted by Tony Stark's enemy The Ghost, allowing Gyrich to dismiss the investigators. In order to render the Gauntlet armor usable once again, Congressman Arthur Woodman proposed to Gyrich to remove the item from its wielder, but the Secretary reminded him of the fiasco of the Armory/Tactigon situation.
When MVP's evil clone KIA went on a rampage with the Tactigon, killing everyone involved in his original's death, the gauntlet took control of Green's unconscious body and broke into the Omega Weapons Cache to seize and wield the sword that had fallen along with the gauntlet. The two alien-powered soldiers found each other and battled, but KIA used the Tactigon to awaken Green and disable the Gauntlet's control over him. He was saved by the timely interference of the Scarlet Spiders. Surviving, he attended both the viewing of Trauma's coffin (witnessing his resurrection) and the ceremony for the first graduating class.
Secret Invasion
During an invasion of Earth by the Skrull Empire, Gauntlet witnessed the arrival of a panicked 3-D Man to Camp Hammond. Following the shutdown of every piece of Starktech due to an alien computer virus, he and Taskmaster attempted to ensure the safety of the cadets at Camp Hammond by locking down the facility. However, "Yellowjacket" (a Skrull infiltrator, Criti Noll) ordered Gauntlet to send the Initiative cadets to help fight the Skrulls in New York City.
The Initiative arrived in Times Square, rescuing the Young Avengers, but were soon taken down by the Super-Skrulls who knocked out Gauntlet. The invaders started to executing the cadets, starting with Proton. Both Young Avengers and Initiative were saved by the timely arrival of Nick Fury and his Secret Warriors who repelled the Skrulls enough time for the speedster Yo Yo to pick up the heroes, including Gauntlet, and hide them all in one of Fury's secret bases.
Eventually, the joint forces of Gauntlet's Initiative team, the Young Avengers, and the Secret Warriors teleported to Central Park, coinciding with the return of Thor, Captain America, Reed Richards, Agent Brand of S.W.O.R.D., and both New and Mighty Avengers from the Savage Land. As the Skrull Empress Veranke and "Pym" gathered their troops, the heroes, joined by Hood and his army of super-criminals plus Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts, all assembled to take down the alien invaders. Once the battle was won, Gauntlet was among the heroes to welcome the returned kidnapped humans, but had to temper the enthusiasm of Prodigy, as joy couldn't fit with the loss of Wasp, a founding Avenger, in the battle.
Commander of Camp Hammond
Following the end of the Invasion, Gauntlet had to deal with protesters manifesting around Camp Hammond, whom he dismissed using his alien device. As Hardball's loyalty to Hydra was confirmed, and as he was on Madripoor, a foreign country with bad relations with the new administration of Norman Osborn, Gauntlet needed to deploy the Shadow Initiative to grant deniability to the Initiative. Gauntlet happened to be in charge of both the Hammond facility and the strike team, as Gyrich had been expelled by Iron Man a long time ago, War Machine resigned from the Initiative, "Pym" had been a Skrull, the real Hank Pym refused to join, and Gauntlet refused that Blitzschlag became commander. His first act was to assemble the Shadow Initiative, now led by Taskmaster and joined by Komodo, the closest person to Hardball as she was his ex. He confronted Mutant Zero, canceling the deal she had with Gyrich to stay in her Zero Room instead of attending briefings, and Komodo about her desire for revenge on Hardball.
Gauntlet tried to keep as more experienced staff on base, but many of the other instructors left, unwilling to place themselves under Norman Osborn's control: Stingray finally got his dream assignment as leader of the Point Men in Hawaii, Hellcat took back her post as the only Alaskan-based Initiative agent, Gargoyle left, having fought for his country since World War I, and Tigra took over as leader of the Arkansas' Battalion Initiative team to train Razorback who wanted to replace his Skrull impersonator, and needed training.
Ragnarok (Thor's cyborg clone) awoke due to Skrull Pym's machinations: "Pym" had planted a failsafe that would reconstruct the clone if he didn't return to enter an idle code. Ragnarok started to rampage in the Camp, forcing Gauntlet and the Initiative (graduates, quitters, cadets, and staff) into a fight. They were quickly rejoined by the newly reassembled New Warriors. Protecting civilians, Gauntlet led the charge against the cyborg, removing him from the town to stop his rampage. Ultimately, MVP and Blitzschlag proved the truth about his origin to Ragnarok, making him leave the town.
Once the fight was over, Gauntlet announced to the Warriors their status as fugitives, but stood by as they revealed the unethical practices of the Initiative to the world. Interrogated by reporters about his own knowledge in those affairs, he preferred to elude the question and went to help the town. He was soon asked the same question by his teammates, and revealed he indeed knew. An argument then broke between the staff (especially Tigra and Samson) and Green, with the last accepting the responsibility for hiding MVP's death, although Trauma backed him up, while Blitzschlag and the military were blamed for Ragnarok.
Camp Hammond Closure
Norman Osborn arrived during this discussion, closing down Camp Hammond, announcing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dissolution, and the establishment of H.A.M.M.E.R. among other plans. As Gauntlet asked for clarification, Osborn dismissed him, asking him to leave the camp for a motel with his family and to wait for new orders. Osborn then left the place, letting an angry mob demolish the camp. Leaving the camp with his family, he was asked for help by Mrs. Trann (Bengal's wife) who was cut off from her husband, as he was still on mission with the Shadow Initiative when S.H.I.E.L.D. (who was supposed to pick them up) was dissolved. Gauntlet went to Norman Osborn and Victoria Hand, refusing to leave until Osborn gave him (fake) assurances about the S.I. status. That visit made Osborn ask for Green's file, finding him "annoying".
Along with Blitzschlag, Reed Richards, and other Initiative scientists, Gauntlet met with Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy, who warned them about Blastaar's army, his takeover of Prison 42, and his attempts to invade Earth. They took Quill's advice seriously but were all skeptical of the team they were facing, having never heard of them.
Gauntlet was later summoned to the Avengers Tower along with Tigra and assumed that their meetings were either about them being fired or reassigned. Green was partly right for his own case, as Osborn removed him from his drill instructor status and had reassigned him to the Middle East back with his former unit. His joy was short-lived, as Osborn wanted to keep the alien gauntlet, having no trouble with it being bounded to Green and tasking Ares to do what was necessary to liberate it. Gauntlet shattered the window of the Tower and escaped, giving Tigra a distraction to escape Ms. Marvel (Karla Sofen) who was tasked to "escort" her, as Tigra was carrying a human/Skrull hybrid fetus that Osborn wanted to acquire. Immediately, Osborn wanted to dispatch his Avengers to track them down, but the Hood, now part of the Initiative along with his gang, chose to send Living Laser, Griffin, Razor-Fist, and Scorcher. Gauntlet reunited with Tigra in the sewers, and proposed to split while Tigra insisted they stay together. Trapped by the four trackers, they were saved by the timely intervention of the New Warriors who wanted to make amends for being partially responsible of Camp Hammond's closure and to take down Osborn. The two fugitives joined the team but Tigra thought that with Osborn corrupting the name of "Avengers", and with the Warriors including herself, Justice, and Rage, all acting in the past as Avengers, the team had to evolve, becoming the Avengers Resistance.
New Warrior
Gauntlet then started to fight the Dark Reign of Osborn, opposing the U-Foes at Charlotte, North Carolina to give Night Thrasher enough time to access the criminals' databases. Unfortunately, their status as fugitives, opposed to the U-Foes being the Initiative team of North Carolina, put them under fire by the police forces, forcing them to retreat rather than fight back. Gauntlet's energy powers proved useful in those fights, as well as his leadership qualities helping to knock down the tensions between Rage and Night Thrasher, and boosting the Warriors' motivation. He was also part of the rescue of the Heavy Hitters after they seceded from the Initiative.
Following the mission and the capture of Night Thrasher by the H.A.M.M.E.R., the Warriors performed an expedition on Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. in order to free him, and Gauntlet was tasked with causing maximum damage to the installations and disorienting the enemy agents, along other New Warriors powerhouses. They were soon stopped by Penance, and Nightmare quickly overcame Trauma, confronting both New Warriors and H.A.M.M.E.R.'s Initiative. Once Thrasher was taken back and the Warriors retreated (thanks to a ruptured gas main blocking them from Hood's men), Gauntlet made contact with their mole in Camp H.A.M.M.E.R., Diamondback, just before she was surprised by Constrictor who discovered her true allegiances.
As the Mighty Avengers were in Tibet battling the exiled and vengeful Inhuman king known as the Unspoken along the People's Defense Force super-team of China, they tried to recruit all Avengers teams available. Young Avengers Stature and Vision came to the Avengers Resistance headquarters, offering their help to Tigra, Rage, Gauntlet, and Justice, Gauntlet highlighting the fact that they were the only ones of the team available. After attending a briefing at the Infinite Avengers Mansion, the reunion of Mighty, Young, New, and Resistance Avengers transported themselves from the Mansion to Tibet though an Infinite door, forcing the Unspoken to rush into the battle. Although most of the Avengers and Chinese heroes were turned into Alpha Primitives due to the action of the Xerogen, Gauntlet was able to stay free for a time, fighting back-to-back with Radioactive Man, but was presumably transformed as well when Xerogen gas was spilled all over the battlefield, and then reversed back to normal by Henry Pym.
Siege
As Osborn launched an assault on Asgard, Justice decided to attack Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. Part of the raid, Gauntlet battled Outback (Boomerang) and the Living Laser before being taken down by the Hood using his new Norn Stones powers. Rising again, he had to battle the magically enhanced Living Laser but refused to stand down, while Penance, Bengal, Batwing, and Butterball joined them. Once a large part of the Hood's trainees and fellow criminals were sent to the battle on Oklahoma, the Avengers Resistance took the opportunity to win the battle.
At some point in the battle, Loki took back the Norn Stones power from the Hood to enhance the heroes, seemingly affecting the Avengers Resistance and the Initiative deserters. Taking the advantage, Gauntlet rushed Scorcher, exploding his armor. Along with Justice he accepted the surrender of some reluctant H.A.M.M.E.R. agents, rejoiced with Ultragirl at the end of Osborn's reign, and was seen at the party at the Stark Tower.
Back in the Service
In the aftermath of Osborn's fall, Gauntlet asked to be deployed to Afghanistan to serve along with his former Army unit. He was instead stationed at the Camp Leatherneck, in Helmand Province, he was asked by fellow soldiers why he refused to join the Avengers, as those soldiers admired the returns of Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man. He answered critically that the real heroes never left. Later, Gauntlet was pushed away from the army, seemingly by their attempts to acquire his gauntlet.
Baintronics
Gauntlet started working at security for Baintronics. During the demonstration of a new multi-purpose tank named the Manticore, the show was interrupted by Iron Man and War Machine, as the vehicle had been developed using illegally-appropriated Starktech. Gauntlet, unaware of such illegality, took on Stark and managed to subdue him, with his gauntlet draining the power from the hero's armor. Sergeant Green was knocked out by War Machine, who had taken control of the Manticore.
