Roadkill

Outside of the town of Petchuwan, Oregon, a deer is tied up in the middle of the road so a trio of locals can run it down. The three men are solely responsible for Petchuwan being crowned the roadkill capital of the world and take great pride in their work. As they head down to the local bar they pass by Jack Monroe, aka Nomad, who is hitchhiking on the side of the road. They pass him by, briefly considering how many points they could rack up running him down for fun. A little further down the road, Jack finds the remains of the deer that was run down and sees that it was intentionally tied up and is furious by this act of wanton cruelty and decides to head into town to find out who is responsible.

Nomad heads to the local bar called the Watering Hole. There, the three men from earlier — Kip Henries, Angelo DeGuzman, and Harry Ulmann — are reveling over their latest fun and harassing Ericka Manning, a local animal rights activist. That’s when Nomad comes in and comes to Ericka’s aid. After threatening Ulmann and his goons with violence they back off, but Manning bolts.

Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, psychologist Andrea Sterman is called before the Committe on Superhuman Activities once more. She is going to be put on a task force that includes the Commission, the FBI, and SHIELD, whose goal is to bring in Jack Monroe.[1] She is then introduced to Jack Norris, the SHIELD agent that is being assigned to the group. After introductions are made, Andrea shows Jack a photo of the last person they need to recruit on their team, John Walker, aka Jack Daniels, aka the US Agent.[2]

The following morning, back in Oregon, Nomad has been spending his day investigating Ericka Manning. He has learned that she is part of an animal rights group called P.A.W. who set up shop in Petchuwan after the town made the front page of a magazine when it was crowned the roadkill capital of the world. After a round of proper introductions, Jack learns that Manning came to town to gather evidence that proved that some of the locals are intentionally killing animals to earn its infamous distinction.[3] Since Jack wants to help, Ericka takes him to her apartment where she has been hiding her most damning evidence. This is something she had to start doing after the PAW office had been raided a few times.

However, when they arrive at Ericka’s home she is upset to discover that it has been ransacked as well. Worse, they have kidnapped Ericka’s cat, Fergie. However, her dossiers on the men responsible have remained intact and she shows them to Jack. The group calls themselves the Roadkill Club and Jack recognizes them as the men who were giving Ericka trouble at the bar. Ericka then convinces Jack to help her take them down.

That evening, Jack first targets Kip Henries, a local dentist who reportedly uses his anesthetic to drug the animals that the Roadkill Club then ties out in the road and runs over. Ambushing Kip at his office, Nomad shoves him into the dentist’s chair and shoves his gun in Henries’ mouth. Jack then demands that Kip spill everything he knows about the Roadkill Club. Monroe’s next target is Angelo DeGuzman who is a local mechanic. He gets the drop on Angelo at his garage and ties him up to a pneumatic lift and threatens to crush him if he also doesn’t talk.

His last target is the group’s ringleader, Harry Ulmann. Ironically Ulmann works at the local animal shelter which is where they get a lot of the animals they kill. When Monroe arrives he discovers that there are guard dogs on the property to protect the place. Not wanting to hurt the animals, Jack uses his stun discs to take him out. Unfortunately, this gives away his location and he is shot three times in the chest by Harry. Luckily, Jack had enough sense to wear a bulletproof vest and is only temporarily winded by the bullets. He tosses two more stun discs that hit Ulmann in the arm forcing him to drop his rifle and flee inside the shelter. Following him inside, Jack is shocked to see the deplorable condition the caged animals live in. Cornering Harry in the back room, Jack hits him so hard that Ulmann goes crashing into some cages causing them to open. Being suddenly surrounded by the very animals he perversely tries to kill breaks something in Harry’s brain and he’s reduced to the personality of an infant and starts sucking his thumb.

Jack quickly finds Fergie and later returns the beloved feline to Ericka at her apartment so he can also pick up Bucky. Jack assures her that the Roadkill Club has been dealt with horrifying Ericka who says that isn’t what PAWs is about. Jack retorts by asking her why she thinks that’s what he is about. Ericka is stunned into silence.

A short while later, the Roadkill Club wake up to find themselves tied up and naked out in the middle of the highway. That's when Jack bears down on them in their own truck and runs them dead. Not liking the feel of the vehicle, Monroe decides that he’d rather ditch it and continue hitchhiking than drive it around.

Three days later, Andrea Sterman and Jack Norris come knocking at a hotel room on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip. The door opens and they are welcomed inside by John Walker who is already suited up as US Agent. He tells the pair that now that they’re together he’ll help them track down and bring Nomad in.

Recurring Characters

Nomad, Bucky, Andrea Sterman, Val Cooper, Henry Gyrich, Jack Norris, US Agent

Continuity Notes

1. The CSA wants to bring Jack in for screwing up an operation that would have led to the creation of a cybernetic gun that can be operated by thought. See Nomad #1-4.

2. The reason why John Walker has the Jack Daniels alias is because, during a period where he replaced Steve Rogers as Captain America (between Captain America #333-350) his secret identity was once compromised. This happened in Captain America #341. Later, the US government faked his death in Captain America #351 and when they reinvented him as te US Agent in issue #354, they gave him the new identity of Jack Daniels.

3. When asked if Bucky is his baby, Jack says “not really” and doesn’t go into specifics. Monroe took Bucky away from her mother in Nomad #3 because he did not think that she — a drug addicted sex worker — could properly raise a child. Somehow he thought a hitchhiking fugitive of justice was the better option, apparently.

Topical References

• When getting the drop on Kip, Nomad’s inner monologue quips “I was on him like cheap on a Kmart.” Kmart was once a massive retail store business with thousands of stores across the globe at the height of their business. However, the company has been in steep decline for decades as it has failed to compete with other more successful businesses. They were ubiquitously known for having cheap merchandise. However, in more recent years that claim to fame has been overtaken by competitor Wal-Mart. That all said, this should be considered a topical reference as Kmart is a real world brand.

• The DuGuzzman’s garage has a vending machine that dispenses Pepsi and Mountain Dew. These should be considered topical as they are real world brands.