Namorita is running through a
weird dreamscape when she is captured by the brutish killer Roadkill who
accuses her of being the motorist who struck and killed him so he beats her
then wraps his hands around her neck…
…causing her to wake up in the
hospital where Doctor Strange and the Punisher took her after last issue’s
battle with the villain. She tries to get up, which the doctor discourages but
she feels dizzy so she allows Frank Castle to put her back in bed. It takes
four doses of a sedative to put her to sleep. Strange and Castle head out in
pursuit of their murderous quarry….
A young couple is driving their RV
down the rod at night when they see a hitchhiker but his ghastly appearance
leads them to zoom past. It is Roadkill and he leaps upon the vehicle, tearing
it apart and sending off a cliff to a fiery crash….
Strange tries to tell Castle they
need to work together to defeat this supernatural menace but the Punisher
insists all he needs are his usual weapons. The monster appears in his flaming
truck and Castle heads straight for it on his motorcycle, machine guns blazing.
Strange joins him, casting a spell as they go but Roadkill runs them both off
the road as he heads into the distance….
Namorita is awakened in the
hospital by Sleepwalker who, having investigated the matter in his own way, has
concluded he must help defeat Roadkill. As they fly into the night, Sleepwalker
catches Nita up on the villain’s mad progress, killing his way nearly to his
ultimate destination: Los Angeles. They locate the groggy Strange and Castle
and Strange now realizes where they can find Roadkill: he is after the person
who killed him—and that can mean only Pam Daly, the writer who created him and
his backstory….
In Hollywood, production of
“Roadkill” is about to resume, the animatronic host shot up by the Punisher
(last issue) having been repaired, when Roadkill the villain comes flying
through the sky in his fiery truck and crashing through the set on an upper
floor of the building. He prepares to assault Pam Daly with a chainsaw but the
Defenders arrive; again, their attacks do not affect him. Pam mentions having
seen him in her nightmares and that is the clue they need to form a strategy.
Dr. Strange hypnotizes Pam Daly with Sleepwalker’s presence enhancing Strange’s
mystic powers. He then tries to force Roadkill back into her unconscious mind
but it doesn’t work until Namorita hurls a live cable and the electricity
combines with the magic to force the monster back where he came from. And
Roadkill is trapped in Pam’s mind so she runs him down in a monster truck,
chuckling to herself. She comes to herself and remembers only that they are the
ones who earlier broke into the studio and damaged the animatronic host; she
threatens to call the police. Strange suggests she should close down production
of the show but she has no intention of doing that as the recent spate of
highway murders has increased the show’s ratings. The Defenders depart, Strange
promising to keep an eye on Pm Daly’s mind in case Roadkill should ever
return….
Characters: Defenders, Dr.
Strange, Namorita, Punisher, Sleepwalker,