Escaping
the Death Throws onto a rooftop, an unarmed Hawkeye comes face-to-face with his
archenemy Trick Shot, aiming an arrow at him. But Trick Shot turns out to be
there to help the hero, firing his arrows to disarm and immobilize Knicknack. TS
helps Hawkeye into an alley where he bandages his wounds and explains to the
hero why all of these familiar foes are suddenly after him. A mystery villain
has put a bounty on Clint’s arm; one of Hawkeye’s severed arms will bring a
hefty price to anyone who can deliver with the caveat that the reward is
forfeited if Hawkeye dies. Suspicious of Trick Shot’s motives, Hawkeye sneaks
off on his own when his rescuer’s back is turned and heads down into the
sewers. But he is unaware that he has been under surveillance and soon all of
the bad guys know where he is too. Hawkeye runs into the killer Razor-Fist who
is trying to kill him, having decided that the reputation of having killed an
Avenger is of much more value to him than the bounty for taking his arm. Hawkeye
uses a glue-type arrow to stick his opponent’s blades together and knock him
out. But then all of the other villains arrive, blocking the tunnels: the
Brothers Grimm, Mad-Dog, Bobcat, Bullet Biker, the Death Throws and, finally,
the villain who set the bounty: Crossfire….
“Waste
Not, Want Not” 3.5/5
Writer:
Fabian Nicieza. Pencils: Gavin Curtis. Inks: Steve Buccellato. Colors: Steve
Buccellato. Letters: Richard Starkings.
Synopsis:
Firebird is trapped by a motley group of aliens of different species who have
her suspended in a force field while they study her. They come to understand
her language and then survey her development from her recent adventures to her
association with the West Coast Avengers back to her encounter with a meteor of
cold fire that endowed her with her abilities to control heat energy and it is
this last that attracts the aliens’ concerted attention. She bursts free and
demands to know who they are and what they want from her. They explain that
they are SHIELD (Society of Higher Interstellar Education and Logistical
Development) and she is aboard their orbiter. They have been examining her and
have learned that her powers are the result of exposure to the carelessly
discarded remains of a young student’s failed science project. Firebird is
shattered, having believed that her powers were a gift from God and now she is
nothing. But in the weeks that followed she came to a greater understanding of
the complexity of her abilities and realized her powers were still from God but
by a rather circuitous route and now she is ready to fulfill her calling….