This story introduces Swordsman.
Swordsman is a guy who used to perform on the carnival circuit with Hawkeye. His introduction offers more details of Hawkeye’s history.
He breaks into Avengers Mansion because he wants an Avengers I.D. card.
Quicksilver and Wanda try to stop him, but he runs rings around them.
He even manages to capture Cap and hold him hostage.
Wisely, he recognizes that Scarlet Witch is the big threat.
Scarlet Witch is on the edge of taking out Swordsman when the villain is spirited away by Mandarin.
Mandarin tries to make Swordsman an ally, but in the end Swordsman decides to walk alone.
Meanwhile, Cap is still whining about how Nick Fury never answered his letter asking to be a member of SHIELD.
And we learn why Fury hasn’t responded.
HYDRA stole the letter! Those evil bastards!
And Hawkeye and Cap are still bickering, too. Perhaps reflecting how Stan and his major artists seemed to fight all the time in the Marvel bullpen. Cap’s insult is lame, too. Why is Hawkeye a “featherbrain?” I mean, Cap’s the one with wings on his head.
By the end, Swordsman is on the team.
Graded D-. I almost gave it an “F”. The Lee/Heck issues are not good. Not good at all.
Great comic. I give it an A.