Dying to Get Out!

Four of the most evil souls living in the afterlife have been summoned by the demon Satannish. He creates new bodies and identities for the four. They become the metallic Coldsteel, the poisonous Zyklon, the deadly Cyana, and the Axe of Vengeance. These individuals are to become the latest incarnation of the Lethal Legion. Led by the Hangman, Satannish intends to use the Legion to get his revenge against the Avengers West Coast.[1] However, not everyone on the team are happy with this new arrangement. Both Coldsteel and Zyklon recognize who they were in their past lives and begin spatting with one another before Satannish breaks them apart. Their mission is simple, divide the Avengers West Coast and kill them one-by-one and once they have succeeded the members of the Lethal Legion will be given their souls back and a second chance at life.

Meanwhile, in the world of the living, Hawkeye has called a meeting at Avengers Compound to announce that he is stepping down as chairman. Clint has decided that he and his wife Mockingbird need a break from the group so they can work on their private lives.[2][3] Another reason why Clint wants to step down is that his effectiveness as a leader has been compromised whenever Bobbi is in danger, such as when she was taken hostage by the Pacific Overlords.[4] Hawkeye then nominates the Scarlet Witch to take over as chairman of the team. Wanda is reluctant about taking the job but decides to do it when the other members of the team — Spider-Woman, US Agent, and War Machine — all unanimously agree. With the meeting adjourned, the Avengers prepare to go about their personal buisness.

Outside, the Scarlet Witch begins overseeing the repairs of their damaged headquarters,[5] Spider-Woman is looking forward to an upcoming visit from her parents who are returning from an expedition in Peru,[6] when expressing her concerns about being an absentee parent to her daughter Rachel, Spider-Woman suggests to War Machine that he bury the hatchet with Tony Stark.[7] US Agent finds himself being ignored by his teammates once again and decides to head into the city to find some crooks to beat up in order to vent his frustrations.

The Agent finds just what he is looking for when he comes upon some drug dealers roughing up a customer over unpaid debts. Taking out the crooks, US Agent gets thirsty and heads to a local convenience store to get something to drink. As he is paying for his drink a scantily clad women comes in to buy a pack of cigarettes. US Agent is concerned for the woman’s safety given the rough neighborhood and the way she is dressed and offers to walk her back to her car. Once outside, the woman leads him to an empty parking space and is shocked to discover someone stole her car. However, by this time US Agent has grown suspicious of the woman because she keeps throwing herself at him. He demands to know what’s going on and what she wants. As it turns out, this woman is Cyana in disguise and reveals that her kisses earlier were laced with cyanide. Despite being weakened by the poison, US Agent fights back only to be attacked by both Coldsteel and Zyklon as well. Zyklon tries to envelop the Agent in a cloud of deadly Zyclon B gas but the hero wisely holds his breath.

Outnumbered, US Agent flees the scene and tries to send out a distress call to the Avengers through his communi-card, however the device was damaged in the fight and he doesn’t know if it is working properly. Deciding to get out of the area, US Agent tries to hotwire a car when he is ambushed by Hangman and the Axe of Vengeance. They are soon joined by Cyana, Coldsteel, and Zyklon who all lay onto the Agent. He is pummeled within an inch of his life before the Avengers West Coast arrive on the scene and drive the Lethal Legion away. When Spider-Woman rushes to US Agent’s side, he jokes that it was a good think nobody nominated him for chairperson as they would have had to have another election before his passes out from his injuries.[8]

Recurring Characters

Avengers West Coast (Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, “Mockingbird”, US Agent, Spider-Woman, War Machine), Satannish, Lethal Legion (Hangman, Coldsteel, Zyklon, Cyana, Axe of Vengeance)

Continuity Notes

1. Hangman and Satannish were thwarted by the AWC in Avengers West Coast #76-79.

2. The woman who appears to be Mockingbird here is actually a Skrull spy named H’rpra who took Bobbi’s place between issues #90 and 91. This is all part of a years long plot by the Skrulls to invade the Earth. However, nobody will not learn this until many years later in New Avengers: The Reunion #2. The real Mockingbird will be rescued from the Skrulls in Secret Invasion #8.

3. Hawkeye mentions how he and Mockingbird first founded the western branch of the Avengers. This was at the behest of the Vision in Avengers #243. The team first appeared in West Coast Avengers #1 (obviously) with Hawkeye at the helm. He has been ever present on the team except for a brief stint where he quit to help train the Great Lakes Avengers between West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #46 through Avengers West Coast #60.

4. Clint has actually had two episodes where his concern for Mockingbird’s safety affected his judgement. The first was when she was kidnapped by Ultron in Avengers West Coast #89-91 and again when she was held hostage by the Pacific Overlords in issues #93-95.

5. Avengers Compound was seriously damaged during Ultron’s attack in issues #89-90.

6. Spider-Woman’s parents will visit her in Spider-Woman (vol. 2) #1-4.

7. Jim Rhodes, aka War Machine, is one of Tony Stark/Iron Man’s longest friends. When Tony Stark faked his death to undergo treatment for a health condition in Iron Man #284, he left Rhodey in charge of Stark Enterprises but kept the fact that he was still alive a secret. When Tony was cured and revealed he was still alive in Iron Man #289, Jim was furious and quit on the spot. The pair will ultimately reconcile in Iron Man #312.

8. Spider-Woman calls US Agent “Jack” here, even though his real name is John Walker. This is because US Agent was given a brand new identity to after his real name was publicly revealed. His new name is Jack Daniels. See Captain America #354.