The Saudis are still learning how to play Washington’s game.

Each week, we use our super sleuth skills to dig into the histories of the characters fighting on both sides of Secret Empire!

Readers may have been surprised to see Deadpool still standing by Captain America’s side in the pages of SECRET EMPIRE #1 wherein he and a handful of other heroes like Odinson, Scarlet Witch, and Vision continued to act as Avengers under Hydra’s ruling fist. The Merc with a Mouth’s not exactly known for towing the line or being much of a company man, so what’s the deal?

Well, Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli attempted to answer some of those questions in this week’s DEADPOOL #31, which takes place before the events of SECRET EMPIRE #0. The issue kicked off with DP remembering how he grew up as a huge Cap fan and felt honored when Steve Rogers asked him to join the Avengers Unity Squad.

Back when Steve was still running around at his actual physical age, he used his tactical genius to set up the Avengers as well as he could. In 2015’s AVENGERS #0, he tasked Deadpool with stealing a canister of Terrigen mist so they could use it to save Rogue’s life. Upon successful completion, Steve surprised Wade by handing him an Avengers ID card!

That, of course, led to Deadpool regularly appearing in UNCANNY AVENGERS as the squad took on the likes of Super-Adaptoid, Ultron, and The Red Skull outfitted with parts of Professor X’s brain. They also made their way to Pleasant Hill during Standoff and got in on the Civil War II action. As Wade so helpfully explained, Cap would send him secret missions writtenon small white note cards that he would memorize and burn. With those gigs came specific rules, especially the one about not killing anyone. He found himself engaged in one of those very assignments before the Sentinel of Liberty showed his true Hydra colors.

Uncanny Avengers (2015) #1

• Published: October 14, 2015
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: April 18, 2016
• Rating: Rated T
• Writer: Gerry Duggan
• Cover Artist: Ryan Stegman

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That mission involved tracking down another Cap-fan: S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson who admitted that he’d been a bit suspicious of Rogers for a while. As he sent out a transmission warning about Cap’s involvement in something big—including the business with the Chitauri queen—Deadpool shot a rocket launcher at him, sending Lola crashing into a forest. Knowing he couldn’t take the merc on directly, Coulson ran for a nearby safe house he intended to use. He got inside, but Wade jammed a hand in and got a gut shot off. As he passed out, Coulson understood that he could have stopped Rogers’ plans if Wilson had never shown up.

The issue ended with Captain America congratulating Deadpool on a job well done as they both watched Coulson’s safe house burn…

The Empire Strikes Back

For more background on the Wade Wilson/Steve Rogers dynamic, check out THE DEATH OF WOLVERINE: DEADPOOL & CAPTAIN AMERICA one-shot. After Logan died, his fellow super soldier science experiments made it their mission to destroy any trace of the mutant powerhouse so he could’’t be cloned or resurrected. That involved tracking down a knife with his blood on it that had recently been purchased by A.I.M. to Moscow. As they did, they remembered their friend and we got more of a look at why Cap believed in Deadpool so much. He’d seen what being created in a lab could do and also knew the potential those unique individuals had for creating good in the world. Then again, he turned out to be a mind-controlled despot, so who knows?

We all know that the first Star Wars film changed the face of pop culture forever when it hit theaters 40 years ago today—but it’s not just the movie that’s celebrating that milestone in 2017. Star Wars comics arrived with force in 1977, and hundreds of issues later, they’re more popular now than ever.

To celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Star Wars, we’re looking back at our 40 favorite moments from the history of comics from a galaxy far, far away—one day at a time.

Most Star Wars fans know that Jabba the Hutt made his silver-screen debut in 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.” Only in 1997, with the release of the Star Wars Special Edition, could George Lucas finally insert a scene he had cut, with Jabba directly confronting Han Solo at Docking Bay 94. But the absence of Jabba in “Episode IV” didn’t stop Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin from including their own interpretation of the character in STAR WARS #2. The thickly whiskered humanoid figure they created may not rank among the “best” moments in Star Wars comics—but it’s certainly among the most interesting to go back to.

Star Wars (1977) #28

• Published: July 24, 1979
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: April 15, 2015
• Rating: All Ages
• Writer: Archie Goodwin
• Cover Artist: Carmine Infantino

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Two years later, Thomas teamed with artists Carmine Infantino and Gene Day to bring the space gangster back as the main villain for STAR WARS #28. The story entitled “What Ever Happened to Jabba the Hut?”—he didn’t have two T’s in “Hutt” yet—responds to its own question on the very first page: “Answer: He is alive and well and trying to kill Han Solo on an obscure planet called Orleon.” The pages to come highlight Han’s escape from the planet, ending with Jabba donning a space suit to pursue the Millennium Falcon.

Reading issue #28 today, we’re forced to wonder: What would the “real” Jabba look like in a space suit?

On the same day that President Donald Trump is making his big announcement on whether to keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement on climate change, potentially ominous news has emerged from a group of scientists keeping watch on Antarctica's ice sheet.  A crack that has been spreading across the Larsen C Ice Shelf in the Antarctic Peninsula accelerated its progress in late May and is about to break off a Delaware-sized iceberg, scientists reported on Wednesday in a blog post.  SEE ALSO: One map tells you all you need to know about Trump's possible withdrawal from the Paris Agreement The rift, which is 1,500 feet wide in places,  grew by 11 miles between May 25 and May 31, researchers said, bringing the front edge of the crack to within 8 miles of  the sea. Once it gets close enough to the ice edge — which could happen anytime now — it will produce one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.  View is of a rift in the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen C ice shelf from our airborne survey of polar ice: https://t.co/VgjxopHHLI @NASA_ICE pic.twitter.com/gt5mpHqbxn — NASA (@NASA) December 3, 2016 "The rift tip appears also to have turned significantly towards the ice front, indicating that the time of calving is probably very close," researchers wrote. The blog post from scientists with Project MIDAS, a UK-based research project investigating global warming in West Antarctica, shows that prior to the most recent jump in the crack's progression, the rift appeared to be bogged down in a so-called "suture" zone of ice starting at the Cole Peninsula.  Such suture zones can stop developing ice rifts in their tracks. That no longer appears to be the case with Larsen C, however.  "... There appears to be very little to prevent the iceberg from breaking away completely," the scientists wrote.  The iceberg itself will not raise global sea levels, and is not actually that out of the ordinary, since glaciers frequently calve icebergs in Greenland, Antarctica and other areas. However, this iceberg will be noteworthy for its size, and it will also leave the larger ice shelf in a more vulnerable position that could cause it to go the way of its neighbor, Larsen B, which broke up in 2002. That breakup event served as the inspiration for the opening scene in the 2004 blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow. Larsen B Ice Shelf before its breakup in 2002.Image: nasa Larsen B Ice Shelf after its breakup in 2002.Image: nasa "When it calves, the Larsen C Ice Shelf will lose more than 10 percent of its area to leave the ice front at its most retreated position ever recorded; this event will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula," the scientists wrote.  A study published in 2015 showed that a reshaped Larsen C Ice Shelf that is missing the Delaware-sized chunk of ice will be much less stable than it has been.  Ice shelves across West Antarctica and Greenland are melting from increasing air and sea temperatures. This is raising alarm bells in the science community, since such floating sections of ice serve as doorstops for the land-based glaciers behind them, and when the ice shelves erode or break apart, they can cause the land ice to flow faster into the sea.  Progress of the Larsen C Ice Shelf crack through May 31, 2017.Image: project midasAs land ice melts more rapidly, it is raising sea levels, threatening coastal cities worldwide.  It's not clear how much of a role global warming is playing in forming and propelling the Larsen C rift, considering that such events can occur naturally. There is some evidence showing that downslope winds may be spreading above average air temperatures across the ice shelf.  However, the Antarctic Peninsula as a whole, where Larsen C is located, is one of the most rapidly warming areas of the continent. WATCH: NASA timelapse shows just how quickly our Arctic sea ice is disappearing

On the same day that President Donald Trump is making his big announcement on whether to keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement on climate change, potentially ominous news has emerged from a group of scientists keeping watch on Antarctica's ice sheet.  A crack that has been spreading across the Larsen C Ice Shelf in the Antarctic Peninsula accelerated its progress in late May and is about to break off a Delaware-sized iceberg, scientists reported on Wednesday in a blog post.  SEE ALSO: One map tells you all you need to know about Trump's possible withdrawal from the Paris Agreement The rift, which is 1,500 feet wide in places,  grew by 11 miles between May 25 and May 31, researchers said, bringing the front edge of the crack to within 8 miles of  the sea. Once it gets close enough to the ice edge — which could happen anytime now — it will produce one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.  View is of a rift in the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen C ice shelf from our airborne survey of polar ice: https://t.co/VgjxopHHLI @NASA_ICE pic.twitter.com/gt5mpHqbxn — NASA (@NASA) December 3, 2016 "The rift tip appears also to have turned significantly towards the ice front, indicating that the time of calving is probably very close," researchers wrote. The blog post from scientists with Project MIDAS, a UK-based research project investigating global warming in West Antarctica, shows that prior to the most recent jump in the crack's progression, the rift appeared to be bogged down in a so-called "suture" zone of ice starting at the Cole Peninsula.  Such suture zones can stop developing ice rifts in their tracks. That no longer appears to be the case with Larsen C, however.  "... There appears to be very little to prevent the iceberg from breaking away completely," the scientists wrote.  The iceberg itself will not raise global sea levels, and is not actually that out of the ordinary, since glaciers frequently calve icebergs in Greenland, Antarctica and other areas. However, this iceberg will be noteworthy for its size, and it will also leave the larger ice shelf in a more vulnerable position that could cause it to go the way of its neighbor, Larsen B, which broke up in 2002. That breakup event served as the inspiration for the opening scene in the 2004 blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow. Larsen B Ice Shelf before its breakup in 2002.Image: nasa Larsen B Ice Shelf after its breakup in 2002.Image: nasa "When it calves, the Larsen C Ice Shelf will lose more than 10 percent of its area to leave the ice front at its most retreated position ever recorded; this event will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula," the scientists wrote.  A study published in 2015 showed that a reshaped Larsen C Ice Shelf that is missing the Delaware-sized chunk of ice will be much less stable than it has been.  Ice shelves across West Antarctica and Greenland are melting from increasing air and sea temperatures. This is raising alarm bells in the science community, since such floating sections of ice serve as doorstops for the land-based glaciers behind them, and when the ice shelves erode or break apart, they can cause the land ice to flow faster into the sea.  Progress of the Larsen C Ice Shelf crack through May 31, 2017.Image: project midasAs land ice melts more rapidly, it is raising sea levels, threatening coastal cities worldwide.  It's not clear how much of a role global warming is playing in forming and propelling the Larsen C rift, considering that such events can occur naturally. There is some evidence showing that downslope winds may be spreading above average air temperatures across the ice shelf.  However, the Antarctic Peninsula as a whole, where Larsen C is located, is one of the most rapidly warming areas of the continent. WATCH: NASA timelapse shows just how quickly our Arctic sea ice is disappearing