Maybe
Roger Delgado could've elevated him out of also-ran status; although that would be a tough row to hoe there. From 1998,
Heroes for Hire #10, "Misalliances!" Written by John Ostrander, pencils by Pascual Ferry, inks by Jaime Mendoza.
This issue starts out a bit more conversationally than I'm used to from Ostrander, checking in with the Master (of the World), who was usually Alpha Flight's problem: he was very much like a more tech-savvy Vandal Savage that usually got his ass kicked by Canada. Since
Heroes Return was going on at the time, the Master maybe should be concerned about the return of multiple heroes, but he was seemingly more worried other bad guys might be against his plan. Still, his scheme was rolling along, and as he mentioned, he had allies...Meanwhile, at the Oracle headquarters of Heroes for Hire, Iron Fist has just gotten around to telling Luke Cage that he had "summoned K'un Lun," and I'm not positive what that means. Former Human Torch/Oracle boss Jim Hammond isn't especially keen to hear that, either; and since the team was short-handed with several members back with the Avengers (circa
Avengers #1, where Jim probably should be; and this predates Luke or Danny joining) Jim had brought in "temps," Misty Knight and Colleen Wing! Who maybe aren't thrilled about the K'un Lun thing, either.
Today's mission, for a secret client Jim won't name, was to get a bioweapons scientist out of Symkaria, which of course means conflict with Silver Sable and her Wild Pack: Danny points out, wasn't she supposed to be a good guy? Yeah, and so were the Thunderbolts. So much continuity today! And even more, as Jim had brought in Deadpool as well, fresh from
Deadpool #17...which I don't think I have? Crap. Probably cheaper to buy a friggin' omnibus than track
that down. Luke is peeved, thinking Jim had hired Pool just to get back at Danny over K'un Lun; and we see even the Master is mad about it too! (Danny seems to have done, whatever he was doing, seemingly on a whim to tie into the millennium or some nonsense.)
After a couple subplot pages with Scott and Cassie Lang (with Cassie probably younger than most readers remember) we check in with Silver Sable's special Wild Pack for this one: not her usual guys like...I don't know, Battlestar? Crippler? Today she's got regular member Sandman, as well as Paladin, the Cat, and Nomad. Wait, scratch that last one: instead of Nomad, it's Madcap! That reveal comes pretty suddenly, and no one is quite sure why exactly; although Madcap would've known Nomad from
Captain America #307, he would've known him as much more clean-shaven than Nomad's 90's look! The battlelines are drawn, but the next issue would have a few surprises...Also, the Cat,
Shen Kuei, is, if you're not familiar, is...um...OK, if Shang-Chi was
the Simpsons, and Iron Fist was
South Park, Shen was
King of the Hill: much less renowned, but with a rock-solid overall record and the occasional win over those two. Yeah, that's probably a clear metaphor, sure.
3 comments:
The summoning K'un-Lun thing: Basically, the city was going to appear on Earth, instead of residing in whatever adjacent dimension it usually did. I think Danny's idea was, it was such a swell place it would be a shining beacon at a time (post-Onslaught) when things looked kind of grim on Earth.
Look, no one has EVER accused Danny Rand of being smart, and stuff like this is a big reason why.
Evidently yeah, ha ha. I’m guessing K’un Lun either never actually made that transition or maybe someone thought to momentarily stop Danny’s heart to reverse said transition. That’s what I would’ve done anyways.
Well, the whole trying to figure out what to make for dinner is extremely relatable, so at least we have that in common.
The Master is basically like the Dollar General/Temu knockoff version of Vandal Savage, especially since his win/loss record is pretty bad compared to Vandal’s.
Danny certainly meant well given the circumstances, but he definitely didn’t think that whole thing through did he?
Kinda interesting seeing Madcap & Deadpool essentially meet for the first time given how much their relationship would evolve years later.
Never heard or saw that Cat guy before but he seems decent enough but criminally underused.
Anyone else miss this era of the Human Torch? I thought this was a decent enough role for him at the time but it’s been mostly relegated to the dustbin of history at this point. It also raises an interesting question, aside from briefly being a reserve member of the WCA, how come he was the only original member of the Invaders to never be a full time member of the Avengers or any other major modern superhero team? You’d think he’d be an important addition to any team given his power set & experience.
I read this very issue and the next to see how this particular mission ended & I definitely didn’t expect not 1, but 2 traitors on the team. I guess it all worked out in the end though.
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