The Menace of the Mind-Melder

High above the streets of Los Angeles, Hawkeye (astride of skycycle) pursues a new criminal called the Bobcat and his identically dressed minions. Try as he might, he can’t get a bead on the thieves because they are highly skilled acrobats.[1]

The chase has snarled traffic in the city, much to the annoyance of Winston J. Kranpuff, who is sitting impatiently in the back of his limo. He is a mutant with the power to possess the bodies of others and he uses this power to make one of the police officers directing traffic wave his limo through. As he heads back to the office Kranpuff thinks about how he used his powers to get everything he ever wanted by possessing others to gain money, wealth, and power for himself. Although he is one of the richest men in the world, at 90 years old his doctors tell him that he doesn’t have much time left.

In order to cheat death, Winston has decided that he is going to take over the body of a younger person indefinitely. As he sits in his office to think about who to possess, he sees Hawkeye zip by continuing his pursuit of Bobcat and his cronies. Seeing the Avenger in action settles Winston’s debate.

By this time, Bobcat and his men have retreated to a nearby rooftop where they decide to make their stand. Hawkeye leaps off his skycycle to confront them when suddenly, Winston takes possession of his body. However, Kranpuff discovers that being a crime fighter is a lot harder than it looks and without any formal training, he is quickly overpowered by Bobcat and his men. Realizing that he is out of his league, Winston abandons Hawkeye’s body before it gets killed and he dies with it.

Back in control of his own body, Hawkeye manages to fight free and easily trounces Bobcat and his goons. In the aftermath of the battle, Clint has no idea what happened and wonders if he suffered some kind of seizure in the middle of battle and tries to make sense of what happened. Across the way in his office building, Winston J. Kranpuff has died with a smile on his face because for a brief moment he was Hawkeye, world renown hero.

Recurring Characters

Hawkeye, Bobcat

Continuity Notes

1. Hawkeye quips that the Bobcat and his men could give “the original Captain America a run for his money!” He makes this distinction because this story take place during the period in which Steve Rogers was forced to give up being Captain America for a time. See Captain America #332 through 350.

A Farewell — With Arms!

In the realm of Olympus, Hercules has come looking for his old friend Dionysus and is horrified to discover that his fellow god has brought a nuclear weapon from the world of the mortals. Hercules reminds Dionysus that Zeus has forbidden them from interacting with the world of mortals. However, the usually merry god of wine is deeply depressed after he was recently strong-armed by the She-Hulk. Believing that his powers are starting to fade, and missing his old days of revelry, Dinoysus has decided that the time of the gods of Olympus has passed and that they all need to be annihilated in nuclear fire.[1]

Hercules refuses to allow this to happen, but Dinoysus has prepared for just such interference. He uses his magic to teleport his benefactor in this plot, a soldier named Sgt. Butcher T. Washington who appears in a massive heavily armed tank. Washington has agreed to help Dionysus destroy Olympus in exchange for a vast wealth of gold. Despite the fact that he is heavily armed, Washington cannot prevent Hercules from charging forward and the Lion of Olympus ultimately trashes his high tech tank.

Undaunted, Sgt. Butcher isn’t easily defeated and tries to strangle Hercules to death with an adamantium garrote. However, Dionysus can’t bring himself to watch Hercules be strangled and swears off his plans. He then teleports Butcher and the nuclear missile inside Fort Knox where he is promptly arrested by the authorities.

Dionysus then returns to the royal palace and accepts whatever punishment Zeus may have for him. The king of the gods is furious that Dinoysus would disobey his orders and banishes him from Olympus. However, this was all an act as Hercules and Zeus were well aware of Dinoysus’ plan and were merely intervening. In reality, rather than full out banishment, Zeus instead used his magic to transport Dinoysus to Earth in the guise of a mortal bartender. Now working at Dion’s Bar, Dinoysus will live out his dreams forever more.[2]

Recurring Characters

Hercules, Dionysus, Zeus

Continuity Notes

1. It is mentioned here that Hercules is recovering from a brain injury he suffered recently, this was during the siege on Avengers Mansion that took place in Avengers #273-277, his injuries were sustained in issue #274 specifically. This led to Hercules being taken to Olympus and a battle between the Avengers and the Greek gods that took place in Avengers #281-285, Dionysus was trounced by She-Hulk in issue #284 of that story arc.

2. Dionysus’ exile on Earth proved to be short lived as he’ll be seen back in Olympus again in Thor #398.