Creatures of Love

Hawkeye and Mockingbird have arrived in New York City. Clint is looking forward to looking up his old mentor, Steve Rogers, Captain America. While Bobbi finds it interesting how her husband reveres Captain America given their tumultuous past and figures they he want to crash at Steve’s place because he’s too cheap to get a hotel room.[1]

While Clint is expecting a happy reunion, some heavy things are going down at the apartment of Steve Rogers. His fiancée, Bernie Rosenthal, has decided that she is going to attend law school at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Steve is surprised that she has chosen a location that is so far away. However, Bernie made the decision because it is the best law school in the country and did so on her own because Steve has been pre-occupied with starting up his Captain America hotline. She also wants to get away from New York because she keeps getting sucked into Steve’s life and always sacrificing her own wants and needs as a result. She believes that if she stays she will get sucked into helping Steve run his business and lose her ambition to become a lawyer. While she still loves Steve and hopes that they will get married some day, she believes that this time away will be the ultimate test to the longevity of their relationship. Steve is upset by all of this, but accepts Bernie’s decision, believing that it is the right decision for her to make.

That’s when Clint and Bobbi arrive at Steve’s apartment, explaining that they are in New York as they have been subpoenaed to stand trial in a case they handled before moving out west.[2] Steve and Bernie welcome the guests with open arms and invite them out to see the town. While Bernie and Bobbi hit it off, Clint takes the opportunity to tell Steve that settling down and getting married was the best thing he has ever done. He quickly realizes that things between Steve and Bernie aren’t going so well and drops the subject. Steve then asks what became of Armadillo, the new villain he clashed with during his recent visit out west. Hawkeye tells him that Armadillo went straight after Karl Malus was forced to cure his wife and has since become a wrestler in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation.[3]

At that moment, the Armadillo — aka Anthony Rodriguez — and his management have just arrived at a fancy hotel ahead of his upcoming match at Madison Square Gardens. As the Armadillo’s manager makes arrangements to ensure his client is comfortable in his room. His wife, Bonita, has been enjoying the wealth provided to them by her husband’s wrestling career and once they have settled in, she heads out for a night on the town. Armadillo wants to go with her, but she insists that he must stay and rest up for his match. Anthony agrees because he wants to make his wife happy. Little does he know that Bonita is having an affair with their bodyguard.

Back in Brooklyn, Steve, Bernie, Clint, and Bobbi go out for dinner and try to decide on what to do the following evening. Seeing an advertisement about the Armadillo’s upcoming match against Doc Sawbones, Clint suggests that they go down to the Gardens to see the fight. Steve and Bernie agree to go along, as long as Steve puts aside time to help her pack her things.[4]

The following evening the two couples head out to Madison Square Gardens to watch the big match. Seeing the Armadillo in action, Steve decides to visit him after the match as Captain America and congratulate him for going straight. The Armadillo wins the match easily and when Steve goes down to speak with him as Captain America, he catches Bonita making out with the bodyguard in the locker room. Not thinking much of it, Captain America pays a visit to the Armadillo. It is here that Steve learns that Anthony hasn’t cured himself of his condition because he wanted to provide some luxury for his wife. That’s when Bonita enters the room and Captain America realizes that she has been cheating on her husband, but decides to say nothing about it, much to Bonita’s relief.

Catching up with his friends, Steve tells them about how he caught the Armadillo’s wife cheating on him and asks what he should do about it. They all agree that this is none of his business and that he shouldn’t get involved.

The next day, Steve is helping Bernie pack her things with their neighbors Josh Cooper and Mike Farrel. That’s when they hear a radio report about the Armadillo on the rampage downtown. Steve excuses himself to go out as Captain America, leaving Bernie to come up with an excuse for his sudden departure.

If it wasn’t obvious enough, the Armadillo’s rampage is due to the fact that he just found out his wife had been cheating on him. Overcome with grief, the 600 pound wrestler has been on a path of destruction with the police powerless to stop him. When Captain America arrives on the scene he tries to talk Armadillo into stopping his rampage. However, Anthony is too hurt to listen. Captain America is no match for the Armadillo’s strength and armored plating and he spends most of his time making sure nobody gets hurt during the rampage.

Eventually, the Armadillo reaches the Empire State Building and beings climbing it. He intends to jump off the building in an effort to commit suicide. Trying to convince Anthony not to do it, Captain America quickly climbs onto his back and refuses to leave. He almost has Rodriquez convinced that suicide is not the answer when Hawkeye arrives and tries to attack. This pushes the Armadillo over the edge, literally, as he jumps to his death. However, his armored plating allows him to survive the fall. With the Armadillo injured and unable to move, Captain America calls an ambulance for him. As the authorities take control of the situation, Hawkeye learns that this whole rampage was all about love.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Armadillo, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Bernie Rosenthal, Josh Cooper, Mike Farrel

Continuity Notes

1. Mention is made to how Hawkeye was originally antagonistic toward Captain America. When Clint first joined the Avengers back in Avengers #16, he thought Captain America was an old man and frequently sparred with him over leadership decisions. Overtime befriended and learned to respect Cap.

2. This is the criminal trail of Crossfire whom Hawkeye and Mockingbird took down in Hawkeye #1-4. Since then, the pair moved out west to establish the new western branch of the Avengers in Avengers #243.

3. Steve previously fought the Armadillo in Captain America #308.

4. Bernie’s brief interest in professional wrestling is brought up here. She says it was just a phase. See Captain America #271 for the details.

Topical References

• Hawkeye is depicted wearing a Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA” t-shirt in this story. The song came out the year before and was a huge hit at the time this story was published. Unless you want to believe that Hawkeye is into vintage t-shirts, this is a topical reference.

• One of the cars that the Armadillo tosses around is an 80s model Volkswagen Beetle. This should be considered topical.