Avengers West Coast #99
Time to Kill
Beaten within an inch of his life by the new Lethal Legion, US Agent dreams of being in Italy around the time of the Renaissance. He witnesses as Lucrezia Borgia poisons one of her enemies. Knowing his history, US Agent accuses her of the murder. However, Lucrezia’s subjects subdue US Agent and forces him to drink a poisoned glass of wine as well. Suddenly, US Agent finds himself falling through various time periods. First the Nazi concentration camps of World War II, followed by a sight of farmers being killed by Russian soldiers, he also finds himself at a murder scene in a house sometime around the turn of the 20th century. That’s when US Agent wakes up to discover that his fellow Avengers brought him to the hospital after the beating he took.[1][2]
US Agent is told by the doctors that he will recover but after the beating he took at the hands of the Lethal Legion, he is to rest otherwise he might get himself killed. Hawkeye actually compliments US Agent for the punishment he was able to take at the hands of the Lethal Legion, but this devolves into one of their usual bouts of bickering before the Scarlet Witch pulls rank on them.[3] She then orders US Agent to remain in bed while the rest of the team tries to figure out what Hangman’s game is this time.
War Machine and Spider-Woman head out to Malibu to speak with the Hangman’s ex-girlfriend, Stella Houston, in the hopes she might have some insights.[4] However, when they arrive at her home they discover that she has been savagely murdered by the Axe of Vengeance. When they happen on the scene, Spider-Woman briefly sees the Axe as a woman wearing clothing from the turn of the 20th century before she resumes her current form. In the ensuing clash, Spider-Woman likens the Axe of Vengeance with serial killer Lizzie Borden. This throws the Axe of Vengeance into a fit of rage because the Avenger had inadvertedly figured out her true identity. She reveals that Hangman and the rest of the Lethal Legion have been charged with killing the Avengers in order to get their souls back. Throwing a tiny axe as Spider-Woman, the Axe of Vengeance makes her escape.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch check out the abandoned Beverly Hills mansion that Jason Roland lived in before becoming the Hangman.[5] There they are attacked by Cyana who reveals that she was once the notorious Italian noblewoman Lucrezia Borgia. As Wanda evades Cyana’s poisoned finger nails, Hawkeye manages to wrap her up with one of his bolo arrows. That’s when he is ambushed by Hangman who manages to get his noose around Hawkeye’s neck. Luckily, Clint is saved when Wanda’s hex powers causes the rope to snap. However, Hangman and Cyana manage to escape in the process, leaving them to wonder if her claims of being Lucrezia Borgia were true or not.
Back at the hospital, Mockingbird had stayed behind to keep an eye on US Agent. When the Agent wakes up from another nightmare. Bobbi stayed behind because she thought there might be something important to the nightmares he has been having. As the Agent gets dressed in his costume, he wonders why she stayed behind to check on him as her husband, Hawkeye, wouldn’t have liked the idea. Mockingbird tells him that is for her to deal with and assures him that any problems will be a moot point as the pair will be quitting the Avengers after this mission so they can start a family together.[6] That’s when the pair are ambushed by Coldsteel and Zyklon. Although the pair hate each other, the two members of the Lethal Legion pairs off against each Avenger. Mockingbird is ready for Zyklon and puts on a gas mask to protect her from his deadly Zyklon B gas. As she fights him, the scene briefly shifts to a concentration camp circa World War II. Meanwhile, US Agent fights Coldsteel and the scene shifts for him so that it is a Russian torture facility. They quickly learn that Zyklon was once the notorious Nazi Heinrich Himmler and Coldsteel is former Russian leader Joseph Stalin!
Ultimately, Zyklon manages to defeat Mockingbird and absconds with her. Coldsteel on the other hand is still pummeling US Agent when the rest of the Avengers arrive and drive him away.[7] At first, Hawkeye is furious to learn that US Agent allowed his wife to get captured by the enemy, but he quickly curbs his anger since it won’t get Bobbi back. In order to follow the Lethal Legion back to the realm of Satannish, the Scarlet Witch gets a spell book that she had obtained from Agatha Harkness. The Avengers all participate in a mystical ceremony that opens a portal to the domain of Satannish. However, the demon is far too powerful and easily shunts the Avengers back to Earth before they can rescue Mockingbird.
Undaunted, the team decides to try the spell again, however, little do they know that they are being observed by Mephisto — a rival Hell Lord to Satannish — who intends to make the trip with them.[8]
Recurring Characters
Avengers West Coast (Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, “Mockingbird”, US Agent, Spider-Woman, War Machine), Satannish, Lethal Legion (Axe of Vengeance, Cyana, Coldsteel, Zyklon, Hangman), Stella Houston, Mephisto
Continuity Notes
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.
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.
Hawkeye states that US Agent has more power than when Clint is using his Goliath guise. From time to time, Barton has used Pym Particles to become Goliath. He has done so on three different occasions in Avengers #63-98, Avengers #345-347/Iron Man #278-279/Captain America #399-400, and most recently in Avengers West Coast #90-97.
Stella helped the Avengers West Coast the last time they fought Hangman as seen in Avengers West Coast #76-79.
Jason Roland was an accomplished actor before he made a deal with Satannish and disappeared for a time, as told in Tower of Shadows #5. He first resurfaced as the Hangman in Avengers West Coast #76.
Hawkeye announced that he and Bobbi were quitting the team last issue.
Here, War Machine states he used to go by Iron Man before changing his name. War Machine was the nickname for the armor Jim is wearing when Tony first built it in Iron Man #281. Jim started wearing it in issue #284 but referred to himself as Iron Man. When Tony Stark returned to the mantle of Iron Man in Iron Man #289-290, Jim kept the War Machine armor for himself. He specifically started calling himself War Machine in Avengers West Coast #94.
It’s explained next issue that Mephisto wants to go after Satannish because the souls of the Lethal Legion were stolen from Mephisto’s domain.
Historical Inaccuracies
This story plays it fast and loose with some of the historical characters featured in this story than how they were in real life:
This story presents the tale of Lucrezia Borgia for real poisoned her enemies. This was due to the death of a number of people that she was closely associated with. However, many historians states that these were merely rumors and there is actually no proof that this was ever the case.
Lizzie Borden is also not necessarily depicted very accurately here either. Here she is presented as a remorseless killer. IRL, Borden was acquitted of murdering her parents as there was not enough evidence to prove that she was the killer. There are countless theories on who the killer of Borden’s parents might be, Lizzie’s motivations and state of mind. The point is, nobody really knows for sure what exactly happened as any definitive answers have been lost to time.
Joseph Stallin’s name is spelled incorrectly in this story. Here it is spelled Josef Stallin.
One could assume that the differences between the fictional characters here and their real life counterparts are unique to the Marvel Universe versions of the characters. Whereas some of the details bout the IRL people are a matter of debate or lost to time, the Marvel Universe versions have confirmed backgrounds.
