West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #27
Star Struck!
Hawkeye is out on solo patrol in Los Angeles, his mind focused on finding the Zodiac. That’s when he is ambushed by the very criminals he has been hunting for. While he is able to hold his own against the Life Model Decoys, he is caught off guard by the new Sagittarius who has been built to resemble him. They are evenly matched in the art of archery. However, before a true victor can be determined, Scorpio knocks out the real Hawkeye with the Zodiac Key.
Sagittarius is then sent to infiltrate the West Coast Avengers. To sell the deception, Sagittarius allows Hawkeye’s sky-cycle to run out of gas and crashes it outside the compound gates. Sure enough, the Avengers are easily fooled and bring the impostor inside. Inside, the Avengers are playing host to Cornelius Van Lundt, Taurus of the now defunct Zodiac crime cartel.[1] He is helping the Avengers take down the LMD Zodiac after they murdered all his allies. Using his skill in astrology, he tells the Avengers that the Zodiac’s next target is likely to be the Denver Mint. Pretending to have a headache, Sagittarius tells the others that he is going to lay down and turns down an offer of a massage from Mockingbird. When “Hawkeye” goes in the opposite direction of his quarters, it raises Tigra’s suspicions. In reality, Sagittarius has gone into another room so he can report back to Scorpio.
Meanwhile, Mockingbird is still feeling guilty over lying to her husband about how she allowed the Phantom Rider to die.[2] She chalks this up to her spy training as an agent of SHIELD and desperately needs advice. She has Hank Pym patch a connection to Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD. Although she catches Nick as he is coming out of the shower, she asks him for his advice. He tells her that SHIELD was in a lying business and recommends that now that she is no longer a SHIELD agent, she should come clean with her husband. When Bobbi asks Nick if he is still having problems in SHIELD, he tells her that he is, but once again refuses her offer of assistance.[3]
At that moment, at the Zodiac’s hideout, Scorpio is dealing with insubordination in the ranks, particularly from Leo. Leo has been questioning Scorpio’s leadership. However, he has enough votes to make their attack on the Denver Mint. Scorpio then warns Leo that if he does not comply he can be replaced. Leaving the meeting to commune with the Zodiac Key, it reminds Scorpio how he was chosen to wield its power in order to spark conflicts to give power to the Key’s creators, the Brotherhood of the Ankh.[4] With insurrection in the ranks growing, Scorpio pleads with the Zodiac Key to advise him on his next move. It tells him that if something bars his goals, he has the key.
Back at Avengers Compound, Moon Knight is out in the woods enjoying the evening moon when he bumps into his teammate Tigra. Attracted to the new comer, Tigra tries kissing Moon Knight but he doesn’t kiss back. He explains that his personality changes like the moon and tells her to see how things go from here. Inside, Mockingbird tries talking to the man she thinks is her husband. However, “Hawkeye” is practicing his archery and tells her to stop bugging him. While in the lab, Iron Man and Hank Pym are working together. Tony is happy that Hank has rejoined the team.[5] That’s when Wonder Man comes in and tells them that Van Lundt has an update on his astrological plotting.
Van Lundt, who has been using his knowledge of astrology to help the Avengers determine the Zodiac’s moves, that he might have been premature pinpointing the Denver Mint. As it turns out, the Zodiac could also equally attack the mints in San Francisco and Philadelphia. Even though the later location is in the jurisdiction of the east coast team, “Hawkeye” insists that this team can handle it. When he storms out of the room, Mockingbird uses this opportunity to tell the truth about the Phantom Rider. However, when she tells him what happened, Sagittarius could care less. Hurt by his indifference, Bobbi strikes “Hawkeye” on the chest. Feeling the LMD’s metal inner workings tip Mockingbird off to the fact that this man is actually an impostor.
Mockingbird finds that Sagittarius is just as skilled a fighter as the real Hawkeye. Thankfully, she is helped by Tigra who has come rushing in at the sound of battle. The pair destroy the Sagittarius LMD with relative ease. Mockingbird then goes to tell the others that they had been infiltrated, little suspecting that the Tigra who saved her is another plant — Scorpio’s new Leo — who reports what has just happened to her master.
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Hank Pym, Wonder Man, Tigra, Moon Knight), Taurus, Nick Fury, Zodiac LMDs (Taurus, Aquarius, Aries, Scorpio, Gemini, Libra, Leo, Sagittarius, Virgo, Cancer, Capricorn, Pisces)
Continuity Notes
Van Lundt is apparently the last survivor of the Zodiac crime cartel who were all seemingly killed last issue. However, Van Lundt is not the only survivor. Libra turns out to be alive in Avengers Forever #1. Much later, a woman calling herself Virgo surfaced 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 (the original Virgo) or someone else who has taken over the identity.
Tigra makes a passing reference of her two souls having been intigrated. Greer Grant was transformed into Tigra in Giant-Size Creatures #1. However, the process was incomplete and led to her two souls to conflict with one another. She was cured in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #15.
In West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17-23, Mockingbird was kidnapped by the Phantom Rider who forced a love potion on her. After breaking free from its spell, she allowed the allowed the Phantom Rider to fall to his death. She has kept this a secret from her husband and won’t tell him the truth until issue #35.
The Zodiac Key drops quite a bit of exposition:
How it chose Jake Fury to use the Zodiac Key and how he used it to war with his brother, Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. This began in Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1.
The Zodiac Key’s creation and the Brotherhood of Ankh and their goals were first covered in Daredevil #73.
Here, the Zodiac Key states that Fury killed himself and they preserved his soul and placed it in a Life Model Decoy body. Jake Fury seemed to commit suicide back in Defenders #50.
In reality, this wasn’t the real Jake Fury, but a Life Model Decoy of him, as revealed in Secret Warriors #25. The real Jake was actually in deep cover posing as the leader of the Leviathan terrorist organization. If the Brotherhood of the Ankh knew this or not is, as yet, unexplained.
Hank Pym suffered a series of set back and losses, including a divorce, getting kicked out of the Avengers, being framed, retiring from heroics, losing his “son” Ultron, and being dumped by Tigra, Hank Pym was about ready to end it all in issue #17. See also Avengers #213, 217, 227-230, and West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #7 and 16. He was encouraged by La Espirita to find a new purpose in life. He decided to become a scientific adventurer in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #21. Both Pym and Iron Man were founding members of the team back in Avengers #1.
