A
blue-clad motorcyclist smashes through the front window at a Los Angeles art
gallery. Calling himself the Bullet Biker, he fires a gas pellet at the guards
then shoots up several artworks, making his getaway. He leads the police on a
wild chase until he turns into an alley and simply disappears….
Hawkeye
shows up at the museum to investigate the crime and reporter Gayle Rogers
insists on accompanying him on his sky-cycle. Gayle points out that the Bullet
Biker has terrorized several art galleries and they were all owned by one man:
J. Marcus Waldner and suggests they start the investigation with him. On the
way, Gayle tries to interview Hawkeye about his superhero career and he admits
he is a showoff. They find Waldner at home after an attack by the villain when
he demanded cash to stop his attacks. Deducing that Waldner’s warehouse is
next, Hawkeye and Gayle head there and catch Bullet Biker in the act of
destroying artwork. The two duel on their respective cycles and Hawkeye is
reminded of a motorcycle stuntman he knew in his carnival days named Dillon
Zarro. The villain leads them on a wild chase through the city streets and into
a parking garage; BB rides up to the top and sends his cycle over the edge
toward a crowd below, leaping off at the last second. Hawkeye is able to swoop
down and knock the falling bike onto another roof. Hawkeye is then able to
circle back to the garage and catch the Biker as he is leaving and he turns out
to be Dillon Zarro. Hawkeye turns him over to the police and Gayle Rogers found
traveling with Hawkeye to be a lot of fun and she looks forward to seeing
Hawkeye soon at the Avengers Compound. Clint is looking forward to it too….
“Fall
Guy” 4/5
Writer:
Gregory Wright, Dwayne McDuffie. Art: Jackson Guice. Colors: Gregory Wright.
Letters: Richard Starkings.
Synopsis:
Simon “Wonder Man” Williams was persuaded to do one last stuntman gig for the
acclaimed director Eli; however, Simon finds himself treated badly, just a prop
for the film’s real star Dirk Studley. Simon is miffed and flies off but soon
his jetpacks conk out and he falls to the ground—near a studio guard who
mistakes him for Dirk Studley….
Simon
is being followed around by a small alien orb, with two voices; the orb
possesses a wrecking ball and tries to knock Simon down. His reaction shows
they were expecting one “Takumer” to react a certain way. Simon is confused so
the orb zips back to the movie studio, creating a giant brick monster to move
Simon along.
Back
at the shoot, Simon lands in a crash and the orb recognizes that Takumer has
mistakenly possessed Dirk Studley. Simon saves Dirk from a falling helicopter
and Takumer leaves Dirk’s body for Simon’s—and is immediately repelled. So
Taukmer takes on the form of a giant mutated rabbit and fights Simon. The orb animates
a camera crane and attacks Simon from the other side, while Eli films it all
excitedly. A massive electrical discharge between the combatants wreck the
giant bunny while Wonder Man rises triumphantly. The orb reveals itself to be
controlled by an alien film director from another dimension, with his actor
Takumer taking over Simon’s body to star in the film. Simon smashes the orb,
the film turns out to have been ruined by the electricity, and Takumer/giant
bunny says they aren’t paying him enough to do it all again and zorps back to
his own dimension. Simon shrugs and moves on…”That’s show biz!”