West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #26
What is Scorpio?
Cancer has called a meeting of the Zodiac crime cartel at their hideout in Dallas, Texas, to discuss what to do about the Life Model Decoy Zodiac that has been active lately. Cancer fears that they have been created to replace them, as they were originally created by the original Scorpio, Jake Fury, before he committed suicide. However, a recent attack on Taurus by one of these LMDs and Quicksilver’s recent recruitment of the entire group, Cancer fears that they are out to kill them all. As the Zodiac members argue over what to do next, the current Scorpio — whom everyone believes is Jacques LaPoint — reveals that he is actually a LMD of Jake Fury in disguise and has infiltrated the group. That’s when the Zodiac LMDs come crashing into the hideout. They slaughter all the human Zodiac members except for Taurus, who manages to lose them in the shopping mall below and escapes into the Houston Tunnels. Scorpio tries to chase after him and use the Zodiac Key to slay Taurus, but the crowd is too dense. However, he vows to track Taurus down and end his life once and for all.[1]
Meanwhile, at a bar in Los Angeles, Bobbi Barton meets with her friend Josyane from her SHIELD days. She wants to know if SHIELD director Nick Fury was still having troubles within the spy agency. It turns out he is, complicating her hopes of talking to Nick about lying to her husband over the cause of the Phantom Rider’s death.[2] She is later picked up by her husband Clint Barton, and Marc Spector who is being taken on a tour of Los Angeles now that — as Moon Knight — he is a member of the team.[2]
Farther north, Iron Man and Hank Pym are running through a practice run of Hank’s new ship, Rover, over Silicon Valley. After the test, they are ambushed by Taurus who points his star-blazer weapon at him. However, he hasn’t come to fight, but is seeking help.[4] Iron Man then calls the rest of the team to meet up with him in costume. Marc, Clint, and Bobbi drive in together, while Tigra ends a squirrel hunt in the woods. On the Sunset Strip, Wonder Man is negotiating a three picture deal over lunch when he gets the call. He tells the producers that he is devoted his role as the Avengers. This abrupt end to the lunch meeting convinces them to accept his deal.
They all arrive at Avengers Compound and learn from Taurus about how his criminal organization was wiped out. Hawkeye questions why they would help him, reminding Van Lundt of all the times the Zodiac cartel has tried to kill them.[5] Cornelius doesn’t deny his past but wants help to defeat a far greater foe. He explains that the LMD Zodiac is motivated by the astrological signs and that he can use his expertise in astrology to help the Avengers figure out where they will strike next. Moon Knight reveals that he too is an expert in astrology and tells Van Lundt that they have no deal. However, Van Lundt promises that if he helps the Avengers stop the Zodiac, he will go straight.
Later that day, in Wichita, Kansas, the Zodiac attacks a cattle auction in order to rob it. The Avengers arrive moments later to stop them. In the ensuing battle, Hawkeye matches his archery skills with Sagittarius and strikes the LMD in the chest with an arrow. This “kills” the LMD, which horrifies Clint until he is reminded that the Life Model Decoys aren’t living beings, but highly sophisticated androids. With the battle starting to turn against them, Scorpio uses his Zodiac Key to loose the cattle and cause a stampede to cover their escape. When the Zodiac returns to their hideout, Scorpio fights with Leo over his leadership in the group. He reminds Leo that he created the Zodiac and that he can replace anyone who dissents against them. Scorpio then goes to his private chambers so he can commune with the Zodiac Key. It reminds Scorpio how it chose him to be their avatar in Earth’s dimension, and how the Key needs violence so its home dimension can thrive. It also reminds Fury how it brought him back to life as a Life Model Decoy after he committed suicide.[6] Reaffirming his loyalty to the Key, Scorpio gets some sudden inspiration. Needing to recreate Sagittarius he takes inspiration and makes the new Life Model Decoy to look exactly like Hawkeye.
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Hank Pym, Wonder Man, Tigra, Moon Knight), Zodiac (LMDs) (Scorpio, Aquarius, Aries, Cancer, Capricorn, Gemini, Libra, Leo, Pisces, Sagittarius, Taurus, Virgo), Zodiac Cartel (Taurus, Aquarius, Aries, Cancer, Capricorn, Gemini, Libra, Leo, Pisces, Sagittarius, Virgo)
Continuity Notes
There is a lot of Zodiac stuff going on here off the top and it is (like a lot of things) very complicated. The details:
The Zodiac Crime cartel was first seen in Avengers #72.
Nearly all of the members of the crime cartel are killed off here. There are some survivors. Libra (Gustav Brandt) will survive this attempt on his life and will resurface in Avengers Forever #1. A woman calling herself Virgo will appear years later in War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #4, however as of this writing (February, 2022) it has yet to be confirmed if this is Elaine McLaughlin or someone who has since assumed her identity.
It is mentioned how Jake Fury once wielded the power of the Zodiac Key. He first obtained in Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1. It’s creation by the Brotherhood of the Ankh was detailed in Daredevil #73.
It is stated here that the LMD Zodiac was created by Jake Fury and that he subsequently committed suicide thereafter. This was in Defenders #46-50. However, this wasn’t the real Jake Fury, but yet another LMD of him that was created as a plant for Nick Fury. This will be revealed much later in Secret Warriors #26. The real Jake Fury has been operating as the Kraken, leader of the Leviathan organization.
The recent attempt on the life of Taurus (Cornelius Van Lundt) by his LMD counterpart was told in Iron Man #183.
Quicksilver recently employed the LMD Zodiac team in West Coast Avengers Annual #1.
Although unconfirmed here, Jake Fury’s replacement as Scorpio (Jacques LaPoint) was killed behind the scenes. His death has been confirmed in the Zodiac cartel profile in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12.
The Avengers looked into the troubles Nick Fury was having in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #11, but he told them to butt out of his affairs. After the Phantom Rider kidnapped her and forced her to take a love potion, Bobbi allowed him to fall to his death. She lied about the reason because of the Avengers code that forbids killing, see West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17-23. She will finally tell the truth in issue #35, it doesn’t go very well.
Marc mentions how his first mission was to infiltrate the LA underworld. That was back in Werewolf by Night #32.
Iron Man recounts the last time he saw the Star-Blazer weapon. This was during the Avengers battle with Zodiac in Avengers #120-122.
Hawkeye also brings up the many times that the Zodiac tried to kill the Avengers in the past:
He references the time Van Lundt used a financial bind to force the Avengers to work for him. This was in Avengers #72. A footnote here reminds readers that this was during the time Hawkeye was Goliath. He took on this role in Avengers #63 to 98.
He mentions the time they tried to kill every Gemini in Manhattan in Avengers #120. A footnote here asks readers if they recognize the woman in green and gold. This was Mantis who was with the Avengers from Avengers #113 to Giant-Size Avengers #4. This was a plug for the latest Silver Surfer because Mantis was regularly appearing there. See Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #3-9.
They also mention how Aries and Aquarius tried to kill Iron Man. This was in Iron Man #184-185. A footnote here reminds readers that it was actually Jim Rhodes in the armor at the time. Jim took over as Iron Man from Iron Man #169-195.
Here, Scorpio recounts how had once lost the Zodiac Key in the past. This was in Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #5. It also recounts Fury’s “suicide” in Defenders #46-50. It states that it resurrected Fury as a Life Model Decoy. It is unclear if the Brotherhood of the Anhk were aware that the Jake Fury they were dealing with was always a LMD or not. Either way, they led this Fury LMD believe he used to be human.