Random Happenstance

Maybe the reason I haven't read a lot of this run, is that I'm trying to avoid the author of this stretch; but this issue makes me wonder why. From 1991, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #22, "The Hate Factory" Written by Chuck Dixon, pencils by Sal Velluto, inks by Chris Ivy, cover by Denys Cowan.

Moon Knight breaks into a former Secret Empire site, gassing some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to do so; because he needs to find out what happened to his wannabe sidekick, Jeff Wilde. There's nothing in the database, so Marc assumes he's dead, but he finds info on a white power organization, the Praetorians, and Bo Ollsen, who had been a mercenary with him and possibly involved in a murder that Marc may have committed. This issue seems to be under the assumption that Moon Knight didn't kill, or will "only use deadly force as a last, unavoidable alternative," although his associates Marlene and Frenchie don't care in the slightest. Later, Marc has a visit from his accountant, who is mad that his absentee management has just cost him five million dollars. Marc was never Bruce Wayne rich; but he's also seemingly sunk a bunch into his new airship, and is mildly uncomfortable that it's so heavily armed.

Even with their Number One arrested, the Secret Empire continues plotting, roughly grabbing the injured Jeff and his nurse Lynn; we already saw where that ended. Meanwhile, to get in with the Praetorians, Frenchie intervenes to save one of their mouthpieces after he starts a riot at a cable news show: Dixon seems to have correctly predicted that corporate news would give jerks a platform, seemingly not realizing not everyone would agree their ideas were wrong. (Or pretending not to: riots mean ratings.) Faking a Paul Newman-esque accent, Frenchie manages to score an invite to a white-power warehouse party, which also has the maze their rally leader Chainsaw hunts victims in. Moon Knight recognizes Ollsen as one of Chainsaw's lieutenants; but he also recognizes the prospective victim: Marlene, who had been on stakeout and caught! Marc smashes in through a skylight, Batman-style, but can he beat up a warehouse full of white-power scumbags?

Dixon has written a ton of books; but he's also on the more conservative side of the fence. Does that automatically make him horrible?...a little, yeah. I don't know if I could picture him writing this one today, either.