Veg Out

After capturing the Orb in the Mojave Desert, Hawkeye and his prisoner find themselves inside an ecological dome created by the Plantman. Seeing their presence as a threat to his current experiment the mad botanist orders his plant people to feed the pair to one of his carnivorous creations, a massive venus flytrap. Although the creature swallows them whole, Hawkeye uses a flare arrow to create enough smoke that the plant ends up spitting them out.

Although Hawkeye is spoiling for a fight, Plantman is uninterested and leaves his plant people to deal with the intruders instead. When the Orb flees as well, Hawkeye is left alone. However, he is able to force his attackers back by starting a fire to force them away.

Needing to get his bearings, he fires a suction cup arrow to the roof of the dome and climbs up above the tall trees to look around. He spots the lab that Plantman works out of. As it turns out, the botanist has capture the Orb. Swinging down to the lab, Clint uses an arrow to blow up some machines. While Plantman and his minions are busy trying to put out the fire, the archer blows a hole in the side of the dome so he and the Orb can finally escape. Moments later, Plantman’s entire bio-dome takes flight and leaves the scene.

Although they are finally free, Hawkeye and the Orb finds themselves stuck in the same predicament before: They are still trapped in the desert with no way of knowing how to get back to civilization.

Recurring Characters

Hawkeye, Orb, Plantman

The Sun and the Moon

Pamela Douglas is seeking out a new destiny among the stars. Accompanying her on this quest are her recently resurrected cousin, Moondragon, the Eternal Demeityr, and the soul of the Isaac Christians — aka the Gargoyle — which is contained in a mystical ruby.[1] They have sought out Cloud, a former member of the Defenders, who is a sentient Nebula and explain everything that has happened.[2] Cloud wishes that she could return to Earth, but Moondragon reminds her that doing so would imperil the entire universe. Heather is particularly sour because her new body is still in its infancy and she is eager to return to her proper age, a process that is taking too long in her opinion despite the fact that her new body will mature faster than a normal one. Isaac tells Cloud that talk of the past has brought up bad memories and how things are kind of rough right now, but promises they’ll be back when Heather’s body has fully matured and is hopefully in better spirits.

That evening, Demeityr visits Pamela in her room and the pair are about to have a romantic moment alone when they are suddenly jolted by a mental probe from Heather. Furious that Pamela’s cousin would jeopardize them by pushing her powers he decides to go and confront her. He then witnesses as Heather pushes her power to the limit in order to rapidly age herself to full adulthood. The gambit pays off and she tries to seduce the Eternal. She is caught in the act by Pamela and Isaac who scold her for using her powers in such a way as she did when she was being manipulated by the Dragon of the Moon.

Moondragon takes insult to this and begins to attack everyone. Pamela tries to fend her cousin off with her own budding mental powers. However, Moondragon is far more powerful and with a single thought she teleports Pam into the void of space. Unable to breath, Pamela wonders if this is how she is going to die. That’s when Isaac senses a presence inside a nearby star. Suddenly, the star belches a fireball that engulfs Pamela.

Inside the ship, Cloud has returned and questions why Moondragon sent her cousin out to her death. Moments later, the fireball pierces the ship and transformed into another dragon. Moondragon explains that she felt like an outside since everyone had love and respect for Pamela and she took everything Heather once had. This new dragon uses its power to unlock Pamela’s full mental potential and transforms her into Sundragon. It also uses its power to recreate Isaac Christian’s body, allowing him to change back and forth between his human and Gargoyle forms.

Demeityr and the others forgive Heather for their transgressions, however, they have all decided to seek out their destiny without her. Moondragon pleads with them to stay, but they soon depart astride the Dragon of the Sun. Moondragon accepts this and after using her mental power to create a new outfit for herself, she sets her ship on a course to return her home.[3]

Recurring Characters

Moondragon, Cloud, Gargoyle, Sundragon, Demeityr

Continuity Notes

1. Moondragon and Gargoyle both died during the Defenders final battle against the Dragon of the Moon back in Defenders #125. Moondragon’s mind was transferred into a cloned body in Solo Avengers #18.

2. Cloud found herself trapped in human form on Earth back in Defenders #123. Her true origins were revealed in issue #149 of that series and she returned to space.

3. The fates of everyone in this story is varied from here out as different writers went on to do different things:

   • Moondragon returns to Earth and will be seen again in Avengers #305, where she turns down membership in the newly reformed group.

   • Sundragon is not seen again until Cosmic Powers Unlimited #3, where she defends the Rigellians from the Dance.

   • The Gargoyle ends up a prisoner of the Stranger with other superhumans and is later rescued by Quasar. See Quasar #19-20.

   • Cloud has a brief cameo in Star Masters #1.

   • Demeityr, as of this writing in March 2022, has yet to be seen since and his current fate is unknown.

Topical References

• When Cloud is finding out what’s been happening on Earth since her departure, the discussion turns to the 1988 Batman film. She can’t believe Michael Keaton was playing the titular role because he’s so short (he’s 5’8”, not that short, but whatever…) and they also mention Jack Nicholson who played the Joker in the same film. This should be considered a topical reference for the obvious reasons.