Hey, kids, it’s the Hood. The Hood was a miniseries by Brian K. Vaughan and Kyle Hotz that created what Vaughan called “the anti-Peter Parker.” Parker Robbins was a small time hood who got a magic cloak and gained powers. He was a basically decent guy despite his chosen profession, but getting powers didn’t turn him into a hero. The cloak is demonic in nature, and allows him to become invisible as long as he can hold his breath. He was morally ambiguous and interesting. Bendis adds him to Echo and Sentry on the list of recent interesting additions to the Marvel U he’s tried to give wide exposure and keep in circulation. Many of us will regret that in this case, tho, but that’s getting ahead of myself. We open on a flashback to the 60s, where a weirdly mean and drill sergeant-like Captain America is yelling at his fellow Avengers that they have to know how to fight regardless of their powers, and easily beats up Hawkeye for characteristically making a snide comment. Feels out of character, especially for the “Cap’s Kooky Quartet” era. Cap says Hawkeye will learn to fight so well that his bow and arrow will be the thing he’s least known for, and he’ll thank Cap for it. All of which seems to be Bendis preemptively shutting down people saying Clint isn’t the physical fighter he’s become as Ronin, but it’s not a question I personally would’ve even asked. In the present, someone asks Clint where he learned to fight like he did in Japan, and he just says, “Captain America.”
Hey, look, continuity.
Is Logan opening a BAG of Pringles? The Marvel Universe is an alternate universe where ANYTHING is possible!
Room service has arrived at the hotel room they’re in… somewhere. Strange magics it so Echo is the only person in the room, which makes the amount of food wheeled in pretty funny. Everyone cools down a little. Peter says what they need is a bad guy to punch, prompting Clint to ask where the bad guys even are. And that’s a lovely segue to Hell’s Kitchen, where the Owl is about to do another supervillain auction. In attendance are Madam Masque, our weird old pal Jonas Harrow, the Wizard and the Crimson Cowl, and the item for sale is Deathlok in a tube. But he’s identified as Luther Manning, the original 70s Deathlok, who was from the future, and not Michael Collins, the 90s Deathlok who would make more sense. Then some guy shows.
Why, it’s the classic “Your new guy murks a classic guy so you can see how dangerous he is” trope.
The Owl looks super dead, but he will be back, somehow or other. Despite seeming to have half his head shot off, he will reappear in Daredevil 2 years from now, with no explanation. That, sadly, is the way of 21st Century comics. Explaining how he’s alive would mean referencing a comic you’re not holding, and editorial has decided that will “scare new readers” or something. Most policies designed to make things easier for the Bigfoot-like “new reader” have made comics worse in the last 20 years. Even people who were behind these policies seem to have noticed, but it feels too late now. Like, now-now. In the now of this 2008 comic, it’s still pretty new. Well, Wong and Jessica Jones are hangin’ out back home when Dr. Strange ports everyone home, and they’re all visibly uncomfortable, leaving Jess to wonder what’s going on as she meets Echo.
Clint remaining Ronin instead of just becoming Hawkeye again felt a little dumb, but it’s not like it’s the first time he quit being Hawkeye. For a while, he was using Pym Particles to be Goliath in the 70s. Jess is filled in on how no one trusts each other as the feeling in the room is maybe they should just give up on all this. Luke says everyone take a day, and if they all meet back here tomorrow, they’ll come up with a plan, and if not, not. Presumably, Spider-Man is off to appear in anywhere between 6 and 12 issues of his own comics in the next 24 hours.
FOUR DAYS! Spider-Man was in the black suit on this Avengers mission for FOUR DAYS while Aunt May lay dying in the hospital! I am trying not to harp on this, but in what world does that make any sense?!
Tough times in the Cage family. Luke is taking this harder than everyone. Wolverine winds up in some bar he clearly frequents for info, just trying to see if the bartender who clearly isn’t happy to see him has heard anything, and has stumbled into something through sheer dumb luck. The bartender says Logan will get him killed, because they’re in the back, but Logan doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
The Hood’s seemingly endless rise to power begins. What starts off as a fresh take on the Marvel underworld quickly becomes buying a comic and going “The Hood? AGAIN?” Bendis uses him too much. But, couldn’t have known that at this point.