First of all—that cover! So awesome. How can you see that and not want to read this book!?
Omega and Gamma Flight team members are properly introduced (they appeared unnamed on screen earlier) and recruited to an independent team led by Jerry Jaxon, who James Hudson used to work for before he became Vanguard. He’s got two “x” in his name, so he’s a bad guy. In back up stories beginning with issue #1, we’ve seen that Hudson actually stole his exo-suit from Jaxxon, so it’s understandable that Jaxxon is cheesed off. He kidnaps Hudson’s wife, Heather, and lures the Alphas to a trap.
Against Omega Flight.
In the ensuing battle, Hudson’s Vanguard suit is damaged and is going to explode, and the countdown is depicted like this:
Pretty gruesome. And that countdown layout is neat.
Issue #12 is one of the top 100 single-issue Marvel stories ever.