Instant Karma’s Gonna Get You!

Jim Rhodes and Shiva Jeffries are about to board a private jet and head to the nation of Corteña in order to investigate the discovery of mass graves on behalf of WorldWatch, a humanitarian organization. Little do they know that Jim has been made a target of a mercenary known as Deathtoll. When the merc ambushes them, Jim is surprised to see Deathtoll is still alive since he seemingly killed him earlier as War Machine.[1] Luckily, airport security is able to gun Deathtoll down before he can eliminate his targets.

After the plane takes off, Deathtoll resurrects himself and kills the guards, replenishing the lives he lost recently.

In the air, Sheva Joseph knows that Jim was bullshitting when he acted as though he didn’t know Deathtoll. She reminds him how she helped him out in Imaya and to tell the truth.[2] Jim admits that he hired her on because she can handle the weirdness that comes with the life of a superhero and tells her about his earlier encounter with Deathtoll as War Machine and how the assassin somehow came back even though Jim is certain that he killed him. Now that they are on the right page, Jim decides to call WorldWatch and fill them in on what just happened. Rebecca Bergier takes the call and when her colleague Ranald Jeffries notes that the media are probably aware of the attempt on Jim’s life and will probably be coming around with questions. This makes Rebecca sneer, as she has come to think of the media as nothing more than jackals. When Ranald asks what’s wrong, Rebecca tells him that it is a personal matter and one she will sort out soon, promising that it won’t negatively impact WorldWatch.[3]

Meanwhile, Deathtoll has chartered a private flight of his own so he can follow after Jim Rhodes and complete his contact with Leviticus. Deathtoll takes the downtime to catch up on some sleep and dreams about his entire life up to that point. He recalls how he was once simply known as Saint Van Sant, the son of a hog farmer. Saint’s father wanted to show his son what it takes to be a man on day by slaughtering a hog in front of him. The sight was so horrific that young Saint fainted. His father abused him for years until one day Saint killed his father with a shotgun. Saint discovered that killing was his calling and eventually became a professional assassin. One mission had him travel to India where he was supposed to eliminate some targets. He found them praying to a statue to the goddess Kali, as they believed that every life they took in her name would eventually grant the immortality. When Saint and his men engaged with their targets Van Sant was the only survivor. To his suprise, the statue of Kali then began to glow and spoke to him. It offered to give him power in exchange for the souls of his victims. In order to make him a more effective killer, Kali promised that Van Sant would gain an additional life for every one he took, thus extending his lifespan as long as he continued killing. This is how Saint Van Sant became Deathtoll, one of the most sought after assassins-for-hire in the buisness.

Later, Jim Rhodes and his team meet with Antonio Villeboas, the State Secretary of Corteña. He assures them that the allegations of a mass graves are overblown and denies that his government has been committing acts of genocide. He tells them that the alleged mass grave is on the site of a toxic waste dump and it will take some time to give WorldWatch clearance to inspect the area but welcomes them as honored guests while they wait. When Jim and Sheva leave, they both agree that there is something fishy going on and Villeboas is stonewalling them. They’re hunch is correct as Antonio has gotten on the phone and frantically called Leviticus for help. He assures the Secretary of State that his organization has already arranged to have Jim Rhodes dealt with and promises that the world will soon be turning a blind eye to what’s going on in Corteña once more.[4]

Later that day, Jim changes into War Machine and arrives on the scene of the reported mass grave. There he quickly takes out the soldiers standing guard. Using his armor’s scanning device he is able to locate the spot where the mass grave was discovered and begins using his repulsors to uncover it once more. However, he is then ambushed by Deathtoll again who is surprised to see War Machine in the region. The assassin begins shooting War Machine in the head at point blank range. This causes is both blinding and deafening to Jim who lashes out in anger and hits Deathtoll in the head with sufficient force to kill him. Rhodey then witnesses as Deathtoll resurrects himself. The villain then pulls out a specially prepared gun that fires adamantium jacketed shells and shoots War Machine in the gut. This cuts through his armor and draws blood, knocking War Machine off his feet. While this was only a flesh wound, Deathtoll gets up close enough to shoot his target point-blank in the head and is certain that this time he’ll kill War Machine once and for all.

However, before Deathtoll can pull the trigger, War Machine uses his repulsors to blast a hole in the ground under his opponent’s feet. As Saint Van Sant falls into the pit he gets buried alive. Trying to dig his way out, Deathtoll runs out of air and suffocates. He instantly resurrects himself moments later, but continues to burn through his remaining lives. Unfortunately for him, Deathtoll can’t make it to the surface before his lives completely run out.[5] When War Machine is confident that Deathtoll isn’t digging himself out, he departs to get medical attention.

Soon, the images captured by War Machine are distributed by WorldWatch and the atrocities in Coreñta become national news. This is much to the annoyance of Leviticus and his organization. Although the situation in Coreñta was a minor concern, the interference of WorldWatch and War Machine has become a much bigger one and he asks his colleagues to provide solutions on how to deal with the organization perminantely.

Soon, Jim and Sheva are on their way back to the United States. When Joseph points out that Jim hasn’t said a complete sentence since he got back from the mass grave, she asks him what’s wrong. Rhodey explains that after the situation in Imaya and with Deathtoll he is discovering how easy it is getting to take lives and doesn’t know how he should feel about it. Sheva says that she doesn’t see anything wrong with it but suggests that he speak with someone in the superhero business for a second opinion. Jim decides that he knows just the person to talk to: Hawkeye!

Recurring Characters

War Machine, Deathtoll, WorldWatch (Rebecca Bergier, Ranald Jeffires, Sheva Joseph), Leviticus

Continuity Notes

1. War Machine was attacked by Deathtoll last issue on behalf of Leviticus and his organization. As we’ll find out later this issue, Deathtoll has the ability to gain “extra lives” from those that he kills and can resurrect himself after death.

2. Sheva Joseph was a former SHIELD agent who was sent to Imaya to stop War Machine from interfering with the political situation there by liberating Vincent Cetewayo, the late director of WorldWatch. She eventually came to believe Jim was doing the right thing and disobeyed orders so War Machine could overthrow the oppressive government there. She later quit SHIELD and was given a job with WorldWatch. See War Machine #1-4.

3. Last issue Rebecca got a call from Trace Miller, the executive producer of a tabloid TV program who threatened to out part of her past unless she agreed to an interview with his program. We’ll later lean in War Machine #11 that he is threatening to out Rebecca as a lesbian. By today’s standard this would now be considered a topical reference, but we’ll get into why in the entry for issue #11.

4. What is Leviticus’ whole thing and what is his organization all about? Your guess is as good as mine since, as of this writing in November, 2022, there have been no answers to any of these questions.

5. As of this writing in November, 2022, Deathtoll still remains among the deceased.

Topical References

• Deathtoll identifies the region in which he got his powers as the Benares. This is one of the many names for the ancient Indian city of Kashi. Today it is more commonly known as Varanasi.