When Arrows Fail!

After being captured by his old mentor, Trickshot, Hawkeye finds himself all alone on a deserted island in nothing but his boxer shorts. No sooner does he spot his bow and arrows does he have to scramble to grab them under a hail of arrows fired by his opponent. Clint is so fast, he is able to fire a stream of arrows of his own in order to save his life. He then ducks into the nearby forest to plan out his next move.

Meanwhile, at a French castle that Hawkeye just escaped from, Silver Sable meets with a government representative. She once again assures him that arresting Hawkeye on false accusations that he had murdered Trickshot was the only way to draw the criminal out and arrest him. That’s when one of her informants comes into the room and tells them that someone matching Trickshot’s description had just charted a boat to an uninhabited island in the Greek Isles. Seeing this as her big chance, she orders a strike team to be mobilized.

Back on the island, Hawkeye continues searching for his former mentor, fighting through the various traps set up around the island. Ultimately, Clint is lured through a cave that falls into a nearby stream. There, Trickshot attacks him directly, matching their archery skills against one another. Trickshot tries to goad Hawkeye into killing him but try as he might, the Avenger won’t take his life. The duel uses up the last of their arrows, leading to an all out brawl. Hawkeye proves to be the better fighter but still refuses to kill Trickshot.

Seeing his plan has failed, Trickshot then breaks down in tears and reveals that he is dying of cancer and that Clint owes a debt to him and demands that he pay it by putting Tricky out of his misery.[1] Clint refuses to do this, saying some debts can’t be paid and snaps his bow in half. Hugging his former mentor, Clint promises to do whatever it takes to help Trickshot find a cure, saying he owes him that much.

Recurring Characters

Hawkeye, Trickshot, Silver Sable

Continuity Notes

1. When he appears again in Avengers Spotlight #23-25, Trickshot claims that his cancer is in remission. However, it comes back with a vengeance and will ultimately take his life in Hawkeye: Blindspot #1.

A Love That Never Dies

Melinda Morrison has been stalked on the streets by a man lurking in the shadows. Seeking aid, she goes to seek help from her old friend, the Scarlet Witch. Wanda is at home trying on her costume to see how it fits after giving birth to her twin boys.[1] Wanda invites Melinda into her home and asks what’s the matter.

Morrison explains what happened to her after the Scarlet Witch and Spider-Man saved her from the clutches of the sorcerer known as Xandu.[2] Seeking a normal life, she met and fell in love with a man named John Kowalski. It was a ideal relationship at first, but things changed the night that John was run over by a drunk driver while they were out on the town. John didn’t die and got up off the ground and it was in that moment that Melinda realized that John was actually the embodiment of death itself.[3] Afraid for her life, Melinda ran away but John pursued her and no matter how far she went, Kowalski was always a few steps behind her lurking in the darkness.

After telling Wanda her story, Melinda points to the window where the Scarlet Witch sees John staring at them from the other side. Suddenly, one of her children begins to cry and Wanda goes up and finds John holding one of her babies. Kowalski puts the child down and says that he has only come for Melinda. When Wanda refuses to let him take her, he uses his supernatural powers to transport them to a World War II battlefield. There, John tries to fight Wanda by taking possession of the fallen Nazi soldiers and attacking her. However, the Scarlet Witch is able to fend them all off with her hex powers.

He then shifts the scene of their battles, taking them into the thick of the Vietnam War, and then to the trenches of World War I. When the Witch proves impossible to defeat, John decrees that if he cannot carry out his wishes, then Wanda will take her place. Suddenly, the Scarlet Witch is merged with Death itself, and it proclaims that John Kowalski’s time is done. Shockingly, Melinda suddenly races to John’s side — realizing that she still loves him — and pleads with Death to not take him away. Seeing their love transcends death itself, its living bembodiment separates from the Scarlet Witch and takes the two lovers with her.

Wanda suddenly finds herself back in her home just as her husband, the Vision, is returning from a night out to watch a baseball game with the Black Knight. Seeing that his wife has something heavy on her mind, he asks her what has happened. Reflecting on what just happened, Wanda tells her husband that she saw the most beautiful thing: that even in death there can be a love that never dies.

Recurring Characters

Scarlet Witch, Melinda Morrison, John Kowalski, Death, Vision

Continuity Notes

1. Wanda gave birth to her children in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #12.

2. The battle with Xandu was chronicled in Marvel Fanfare #6.

3. TL;DR version of John Kowalski’s story: He ended up in Poland during the early days of World War II. When he refused to alert the American government of the Nazi invasion he was cursed and later killed in the conflict. Death then forced Kowalski for a time to take possession of the recently deceased and made them atone for their wartime atrocities by saving the lives of those affected by war. See War is Hell #9-15.

Topical References

• Wanda has a CRT television in her house. This should be considered topical because this type of television now obsolete.