- "The prison's compromised."
"Let me guess. Lucy Bauer?"
"Lucy and the whole Peanuts gang." - ―Phil Coulson and Alphonso Mackenzie[src]
The South Ridge Penitentiary Riot was a prison riot orchestrated by Lucy Bauer in order to abduct Eli Morrow and force him to help her restore her life.
Background[]
- "My uncle is not gonna talk to you."
"Well, then this time, we won't give him a choice. Let's inform S.H.I.E.L.D. we're taking an asset into protective custody as part of a routine investigation. May, want to go to prison? Could be Taco Tuesday." - ―Robbie Reyes and Phil Coulson[src]
Phil Coulson decided S.H.I.E.L.D. should be involved into the investigation of the recent appearance of supernatural beings, such as the ghost Lucy Bauer, who infected Melinda May and nearly killed her[3] and the individual known as Ghost Rider. By sending Robbie Reyes talk with his uncle Eli Morrow who was imprisoned at the South Ridge Penitentiary, S.H.I.E.L.D. learned that Bauer's existence was due to an infamous book known as the Darkhold.[4] They went to interrogate Joseph Bauer, Lucy's husband who had just got out of a coma. Before dying, Joseph Bauer informed Coulson and Alphonso Mackenzie had already reclaimed the Book of Spells. They decided to enlist Morrow's help by getting him out of prison.
Lucy Bauer discovers she cannot read the Darkhold
Unbeknownst to them, however, Lucy could not read the Darkhold and needed someone alive to do it in her place and help her getting read of her ghostly condition. She targeted Morrow as he was the one responsible for her suffering.[5]
Riot[]
- "What about the very real situation happening right now outside of Los Angeles? Is it true that S.H.I.E.L.D. has compromised a prison?"
- ―Ellen Nadeer to Jeffrey Mace[src]
Phil Coulson and Melinda May went to South Ridge Penitentiary and met with Warden Green to settle the details for taking Eli Morrow out of jail. However, Lucy Bauer and her team of ghosts had been ahead of them and infected all the prison's staff, rendering them crazy and making them see demons everywhere. Green assaulted Coulson and May with a shotgun. They managed to knock him out, but as more guards were coming, they retreated inside Green's office, alerting Alphonso Mackenzie of the situation and waiting for reinforcements.
S.H.I.E.L.D., Quake and Ghost Rider arrive at the penitentiary
Leo Fitz provided S.H.I.E.L.D. with antidotes to the ghostly infection, and Mackenzie led a team to the penitentiary. Mackenzie and Ghost Rider went through the cell blocks to find Morrow. On the way, Reyes recognized Santino Noguera, a member of the Fifth Street Locos, which happened to be the gang responsible for the accident crippling Gabe Reyes and turning him into Ghost Rider. However, Mackenzie prevented Reyes from assaulting the thug and they went further into the penitentiary where they encountered two ghosts: Reyes destroyed Vincent and Hugo infected Mackenzie before being burnt down as well. Mackenzie injected himself with the antidote and resumed the search, eventually finding Morrow.
Melinda May, Phil Coulson and Quake face the released prisoners
Meanwhile, Quake rescued Coulson and May before heading to Morrow as well. However, their progression was stopped when Bauer unlocked the cells' doors. The prisoners got out and began to chase the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, initiating a riot within the prison. They tried to escape, but upon seeing that they would be overrun, Quake decided to remain behind in the cafeteria and to fight the prisoners, who also happened to be recruits for the Watchdogs, forcing Coulson and May to leave her. However, they refused to do so and Fitz managed to give them an itinerary so that they could rescue Quake who was being choked to death after defeating many prisoners.
Lucy Bauer kidnaps Eli Morrow
Mackenzie and Reyes took Morrow out of his cell and warned him about Bauer. Morrow agreed to follow them and they made their way out of the penitentiary. While Mackenzie helped some lucid guards to escape as well, he tasked Reyes with escorting Morrow outside. However, upon passing in front of Noguera's cell once again, Reyes told his uncle to go outside alone. Once he was out of sight, Reyes took his demonic form and incinerated Noguera, frightening the other prisoners. Unfortunately, Morrow was left without protection and was kidnapped by Bauer. The S.H.I.E.L.D. team eventually made it out of the prison but realized that Morrow was missing.[5]
Aftermath[]
Jeffrey Mace is blackmailed by Senator Ellen Nadeer
- "He's a cold-blooded killer. Santino Noguera... a model prisoner looking at early release. That is, until he ran into whatever that... thing is. We know he came in with S.H.I.E.L.D., and he left with S.H.I.E.L.D. So tell me, are your people aware they're harboring a murderer, or do they just not care?"
- ―Ellen Nadeer to Jeffrey Mace[src]
Beside having lost Eli Morrow, S.H.I.E.L.D. would soon have to deal with another issue as the murder of Santino Noguera had been captured on security video feed. Senator Ellen Nadeer accessed those feeds, which also showed that Ghost Rider was associated with S.H.I.E.L.D. Therefore, she blackmailed Director Jeffrey Mace, threatening to go public with the images and forcing him to send Jemma Simmons to investigate the Terrigenesis of her brother Vijay Nadeer.[5]
Having kidnapped Morrow, Lucy Bauer brought him to the Roxxon Power Plant to have him read the Darkhold and help her get rid of her ghostly condition. However, Morrow would take advantage of having access to the Darkhold to gain superhuman powers.[6]