Secret Avengers

History
When Steve Rogers took over Norman Osborn's role as top cop, he chose not to continue H.A.M.M.E.R. nor to reestablish S.H.I.E.L.D. Instead, he decided to put the world's security into the hands of a few Avengers sub-teams. One of these teams became the Secret Avengers, and he took direct leadership of it with Sharon Carter assisting him with tactical operations. The purpose of this team was to covertly clean up the messes left by the Osborn administration. To this end, Steve personally recruited a team that would allow him to carry out surgical strikes in any given circumstance. This included experienced covert operators like Black Widow, Sharon Carter, Moon Knight and Ant-Man; a scientist in Beast; a one man army in War Machine; a powerful magical warrior called the Valkyrie in Brunnhilde, and the cosmos' top cop Nova.

Steve first go on a mission with the team to a mining facility of Roxxon Energy Corperation established on Mars. Some reports said than the Roxxon have acquired the Serpent Crown. So Rogers decide to go on Mars with Black Widow and Valkyrie to find the artifact, and Beast later discovered than it was not the real Serpent Crown, but an object similar to. Rogers have also dispatched Nova to investigate on Mars and found more information, but he lost communication with him. The rest of the team go to Mars to found him and discovered him controlled by the entity of the artifact who was similar to the Serpent Crown. With the help of a man named Archon, who was charged to protect the world against the entity, they liberated Nova.

Then, the Secret Avengers was confronted to Archon who wanted to killed Nova for be sure he will not be possessed by the artifact again. Nova left the team after Archon decide to left him alive. They was also confronted to the Shadow Council, and for beat him, they have to deal with a Nick Fury imposter working for the Shadow Council. The real Fury confirms that the imposter was an advanced Life Model Decoy modified by Jake Fury. He was going to destroy the LMD, but the Life Model Decoy was rescued by the Shadow Council and was named Max. Operatives in the "Shadow Council" are Aloysius Thorndrake and hero John Steele.