Avengers Spotlight #21
I’ve Been in the Desert with an Orb with No Shame
Trapped in the desert with the Orb, Hawkeye has been trying to get them to safety but has no idea where he is going. They have just escaped Plantman’s bio-dome and have Hawkeye had the forethought to fill his quiver with water. However, their supply is running low and, mad with thirst, the Orb attacks Clint when he refuses to ration out more water. Hawkeye bests the Orb in a fight, but relents and gives him the last of their water.
Several hours later, the sun parched duo find themselves crawling across the desert on their hands and knees. Thinking this might be the end, Clint regrets not getting the opportunity to rejoin the Avengers West Coast, or patching things up with his wife, Mockingbird.[1][2]
However, this would not be their time to die, as they soon come upon a completely abandoned town. The pair race to the fountain in the town square to drink their fill of water. While Hawkeye is hydrating himself, the Orb slips away. Putting this concern aside, Clint uses a nearby payphone to try and contact the Avengers, but gets the voice mail.
That’s when the Orb returns with a gang of bikers and, as it turns out, this abandoned town was where he was trying to get to after his last robbery. When the Orb orders the bikers to shoot Hawkeye, they gun him down instead.[3] Hawkeye finds himself in a firefight with the bikers and quickly discovers that they are Plantman’s plant simulacrums. Since these aren’t living people, Hawkeye uses his flame arrows to set these creatures on fire. However, there is a whole army and his trials in the desert have left the archer incredibly fatigued.
He continues fighting nonetheless, however Clint is saved at the zero hour by Wonder Man and Hank Pym who got his message and have mounted a rescue mission. Finally safe, Clint then collapses in Hank’s arms out of exhaustion.
Recurring Characters
Hawkeye, Orb, Wonder Man, Hank Pym
Continuity Notes
Hawkeye had quit the WAC after the team was forced to admit US Agent onto the team in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #45.
Hawkeye’s marriage has trouble since the events of West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17-23. Bobbi was kidnapped by the Phantom Rider and when she got free she left him to die. When Clint learned the truth in issue #35, he was upset because she violated the Avengers code on killing instead of supporting his wife when she was sexually assualted. The two split up in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #37, but have been trying to work on their relationship since Solo Avengers #14. It should be no surprise to you that Hawkeye survives this and the pair will start making amends in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #46.
Although apparently shot dead here, the Orb survived this encounter and is seen again in Deadline #2.
Comedy of Eros
Giving up his quest to find Nebula, the alleged granddaughter of his brother Thanos, Starfox has come to the planet Rescola on an important mission.[1] The Rescolians are a extremely repressed society where nearly everything is forbidden except for commerce. However, some of the local remember Eros from his last visit where he offended people by asking about the weather. He avoids an attempt on his life and then uses his pleasure power to convince his attacker to engage in a business transaction with him instead.
He asks to be taken to a shop that sells companions. There he finds the person he came looking for, Heater Delight, whom he had lost track of long ago.[2] After handing over his gold card for payment, Eros is given a moment alone with Heater Delight. She tells him that after their last encounter, she hooked up with Black Roger, the ruler of the Mystery Planet. However, when he wanted to force her to sign a 100 year exclusivity contract, Heater instead chose to sell herself into slavery instead because it seemed like the better idea at the time.
After catching up, Starfox then tries to haggle down the price with the Rescolian who is selling Heater. When he can’t get the price low enough to his likings, Eros uses his power to make the repressed salesman admit his innermost desires. This causes the other shop keepers to try and attack the couple, however Eros simply flies away to his ship and flee the planet.
Recurring Characters
Starfox, Heater Delight
Continuity Notes
Nebula made the claim that she is the daughter of Thanos in Avengers #260. This claim has been refuted and there are a number of conflicting accounts for and against it:
In Silver Surfer Annual #5, Nebula’s relates a story about how she was raped by a relative. In this memory, he is depicted as a blue skinned alien with a ridged chin.
In Nova (vol. 3) #1, Nebula later claimed that she was the daughter of Zorr, a Luphomoid with no recorded connection to Thanos.
Gamora #1-5 reveals that she was raised alongside Gamora, Thanos’ adopted daughter.
The truth behind her family tree and how it all connects to Thanos has yet to be fully explained as of this writing in March, 2022.
Regardless, Starfox has been following after Nebula after she made her original claim back in Avengers #260. Although it states here that he has given up on this quest, he will pick up the trail again in Avengers #311.
Starfox last saw Heater back in Warlock #11.
