Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Jabroniville]

TRICKSHOT (Charles Bernard "Barney" Barton)
Created By: Roy Thomas & Gene Colan
First Appearance: The Avengers #64 (May 1969)
Role: Mirror Image Villain, Long-Lost Brother
Group Affiliations: The Dark Avengers, The FBI
PL 9 (121)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+7)
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (FBI Agent) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Soldier) 2 (+4)
Insight 3 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 3 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Bow & Arrow) 2 (+13)
Stealth 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Bow), Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Trick Bow & Arrow" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [18]
"Explosive Arrow" Blast 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (24) -- (29 points)

• AE: "Smoke Bombs" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Extras: Ranged, Area- 15ft. Cloud, Attack) (10)
• AE: "Bola Arrow" Snare 7 (Inaccurate -1) (20)
• AE: "Boomerang Arrow" Blast 5 (Feats: Split 2, Homing, Ricochet 2) (15)
• AE: "Gas Arrow" Sleep 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (24)
• AE: "Standard Arrow" Blast 5 (Feats: Variable- Blunt, Electrical or Sharp) (Extras: Multiattack) (16)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Standard Arrow +13 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Gas Arrow +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Bola Arrow +11 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Explosive Arrow +8 Area (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Enemy (Hawkeye)- Barney has been manipulated by Baron Zemo into becoming an enemy of his little brother Clint. Later, the two somewhat reconcile, but also argue frequently. And sometimes steal.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 18 / Defenses: 11 (121)

-Appearing from time to time, Barney is the older brother of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye. Both orphaned, they ran away to join a travelling carnival, but after a falling-out involving Sworsdman and their continuing education (Clint only wanted to become a better performer), a bitter Barney quit and joined the army while Clint went on to his eventual career. Barney was shot with an arrow by a crook-in-training Clint during a botched robbery (Barney was undercover as an FBI agent at the time), and only came back into Clint's life to die- he was asked to finance Egghead's insane scheme, and sacrificed his life to stop the villain's "Ray-Projector". At Barney's funeral, Clint would discover his brother's FBI past, and also that Barney knew he was a superhero. This was meant to give Clint a personal stake in the fight with Egghead- he later killed the villain by accident.

-Barney later turned up alive DECADES later- it turned out his body had been stolen away by Egghead and placed in a healing chamber, as there were "faint life signs" left. However, Egghead had since died, and the chamber was found by Baron Zemo. Zemo ordered Trick Shot to mentor Barney in the way of the bow, turning him into Hawkeye's equal, and Barney becomes "Trickshot", taking out the space between "Trick" and "Shot". Barney defeats Clint and brings him to Zemo, who orders them to fight in a duel to the death- Hawkeye wins this rematch and Zemo escapes. Trickshot goes to jail, and later donates his bone marrow to save Clint's sight... but only so he could fight him in the future.

-Trickshot becomes a side member of the Dark Avengers, engaging in a lot of random group-battles that go nowhere during Dark Reign- they are eventually turned on by Skaar- Son of Hulk- a double-agent. He went on a long stretch of adventures with his team (who became temporary Thunderbolts working for Luke Cage), but is central to zero stories until popping up in the Matt Fraction Hawkeye series, dressing and acting like a normal guy, along with everyone else in that book. He had apparently quit the Dark Avengers and was living on the streets, then reconciled with Clint and helped out during the Tracksuit Mafia's raid on Clint's building. There was some fun stuff thrown in, with Barney being kind of a con-man in his own right and showing the abusive past of the boys, with Barney teaching a young Clint how to fight- Clint clearly looked up to his older brother, but found him unreliable and annoying in modern times. Barney is badly injured by the Tracksuits and wheelchair-bound, but still helps out... and then at the end of the series, we find out that he's stolen all of Clint's ill-gotten money (stolen from super-villains) and ran away with a woman from Clint's building.

-All in all, it's a very bizarre story that goes in a few odd ways- I mean, he's your standard Long-Lost Brother character... but to be resurrected years later and turned into an Evil Archer Nemesis, only to sort of turn good again? Odd. In any case, I figure him for a solid opponent for Hawkeye, but I'm not buying him as Clint's equal just yet.

[saint_matthew]

Hawkeye MADE jokes. He wasn't A joke. But for the longest time he's basically been treated as a sad sack loser who can't keep his life together

All for the benefit of a boring female character. I ALWAYS hate this trope, the "we've decided this female character is important, so we'll replace the heterosexual white male character & make him incompetent because we don't possess the skill to make this female character interesting in her own right."

And here's the thing I LIKED Kate in Young Avengers. In fact I liked the entire Young Avengers series, right up until Young Avengers presents & Childrens Crusade, after the end of which the entire team went full retard & Kate was turned in to an incompetent Hawkeye knock off, ruining two great characters for the benefit of neither.

I also think Kate needs her own identity the same way Miles does (I've really come around to liking Miles as The Scarlet Spider)

I agree with you on both of those, though I hadn't seen the Miles as Scarlet Spider thing, though I am going to disagree with you on the identity as Scarlet Spider. That's just more of the same "like Peter Parker but not as good" schtick he's been stuck with for almost a decade. Miles needs to get right out from under Peters shadow & go do his own thing.

My idea for Miles involved Miles losing his powers entirely, maybe to Morlun, or something similar & after getting injured The Morales family leave New York for parts unknown, Miles leaving a "please don't try to find me" note for Peter.

10 to 18 months later, a new title called The Steel Spider begins, a book about a black clad spider hero, with the four prehensile robot limbs, functioning out of Chicago, fighting organised crime, organised crime that has started using meta-human criminals. Turns out this Steel Spider has no powers, but the suit does, it can stick to walls, has increased strength, is moderately bullet resistant & makes it's wearer super strong.... not to mention the extra visual senses built in to the suit.

But not enhanced agility, no webs, no spider-sense.

Yeah it's Miles, but Miles has gone through some changes since he was Spider-Man. He's had a growth spurt so he's no longer drawn looking like a 9 year old. He's also at a normal public school, his parents have normal civilian jobs, he has a supporting cast of his own, his own identity that has never been used by Peter Parker & more importantly his own narrative shtick & developing rogues gallery.

That's the Miles Morales comic I want to read.

[KorokoMystia]

Barney's costume makes him look kinda like Roy Harper. Am I seeing things?

[Jabroniville]

Barney's costume makes him look kinda like Roy Harper. Am I seeing things?

No, I was legit confused when I saw the red one, too. If it weren't for his larger build, they'd be dead-ringers.

[catsi563]

Nope theres a bit of Arsenal Red Arrow in there

[Jabroniville]

Personally, I don't think "Clint's life is a mess" is Kate Bishop's fault- if anything, their early interactions showed that Clint was a better archer and hero than she was (he easily figures out she's eavesdropping on the team, then beats her at archery). The "Clint is a mess" thing starts up around when he becomes Ronin, which is a Bendis thing, I think.

And the Fraction series doesn't make Kate better than Clint- if anything, her solo adventure is even messier than Clint's is, as she's constantly hurt, chased around, nearly-killed, and more- she loses all her money, gets those nice lesbians' trailer burned down and has to be led through everything by all the adults in her presence because she's got more sass and moxie than brains at this point. The hilarious relationship with the angry detective (who is frustrated because Kate simply assumes that he's lovable and curmudgeonly but will grow to appreciate and love her) is rad.

Plus you get moments like this:

Kate:
"You can scream and you can yell and be as mean and be as self-destrucive as you want. Because I know you're going to be here for me when it's my turn to fall apart. Let them come, Clint. Let every last one of those tracksuit-wearing sub-verbal bullying murderous scumbags come at us. Because you and me? Together? Together, Clint, I think you and me are the person we both wish we could be. And I know THAT person... I know that person is worth something. I know THAT person can... can do pretty much anything. You with me, partner?"

In short, Kate is the best and also the most annoying snotty brat ever, and everyone needs to acknowledge how wonderful she is . Especially since she's called out as being a brat IN-UNIVERSE, which is like the one thing everyone's always complaining Marvel DOESN'T do for it's female characters these days.

[Ken]

Barney's costume makes him look kinda like Roy Harper. Am I seeing things?

No, I was legit confused when I saw the red one, too. If it weren't for his larger build, they'd be dead-ringers.

I saw the first picture and thought "Roy? What the f---?"

[Jabroniville]

BULLET BIKER (Dillon Zarro)
Created By: Tom DeFalco, Ralph Macchio & Ron Lim
First Appearance: Solo Avengers #13 (Dec. 1988)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (96)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Showman) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+3)
Vehicles 8 (+12) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles

Advantages:
Equipment 7 (Motorcycle), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Specialized Biker Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [24]
"Gas Pellets" Sleep 7 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud) (28) -- (29)

• AE: Energy Blast 7 (14)

Protection 1 (1)
-- (30 points)

Equipment:
"Motorcycle" (Medium Size; Strength 1, Speed 6, Defense 10, Toughness 8) -- (35 points)
"Missiles" Blast 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (24) -- (25)

• AE: "Machine Guns" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Machine Guns +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Energy Blast +8 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Gas Pellets +7 Area (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Missiles +8 Area (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+4 Costume), Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Enemy (Hawkeye)- Barney has been manipulated by Baron Zemo into becoming an enemy of his little brother Clint.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 24 / Defenses: 9 (96)

-Bullet Biker is a one-note Jobber meant to oppose Hawkeye during Solo Avengers. He was a motorcycle stunt rider who got jealous when Clint Barton's archery act got more popular than his, quit his job at their carnival, and became a daredevil super-villain. He fights Hawkeye once, then gets beaten by him again when he and a group of other Jobbers try to collect Crossfire's bounty on Clint's right arm. He's a classic Jobber, made PL 8 only due to the Missiles on his Motorcycle (just a piece of Equipment)- the rest of him is a puny PL 7.

[Goldar]

I always wondered <<WHY>> Hawkeye became Goliath way way back.......I think it was to keep the "Goliath" name while Hank had assumed "YellowJacket". I never bought Hawkeye's bow snapping and him getting disgusted wih it as the reason. I think in that story, Clint may have thought something about being the only Avenger without any (real) powers. That at least, makes more sense.

In #129, I believe, Clint thinks "next to the Wasp, I am the weakest Avenger" and that is when he was back to Hawkeye.

[catsi563]

I actually like Bullet Biker as a jobber concept great for a street level hero to take on as he makes for an interesting chase mechanic forcimg the hero to work to get him off the bike so they cant pop him in the schnoz

[Jabroniville]

lol this guy always reminds me of this commercial.

CROSSFIRE (William Cross)
Created By: Steven Grant & Jim Craig
First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One #52 (June 1979)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: Cross Technological Enterprises, The Villains For Hire, The C.I.A., The Masters of Evil
PL 9 (153)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Spy) 7 (+12)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+10)
Insight 6 (+9)
Investigation 8 (+11)
Perception 7 (+10)
Persuasion 5 (+7)
Sleight of Hand 6 (+12)
Stealth 10 (+14)
Technology 9 (+15)
Vehicles 2 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 5 (Spy Gear, Suit, Pistol), Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Pistol), Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Ranged Attack 6, Skill Mastery 2 (Spy, Deception), Ultimate Spy Skill, Well-Informed

Powers:
"Cybernetics"
Senses 4 (Enhanced & Ultra-Hearing, Extended Sight, Infra-Vision) [4]
"Partially Deaf Without Sensors" Immunity 3 (Hearing-Based Dazzles, Ultrasonics) [3]

Equipment:
"Twin Handguns" Blast 6 (Feats: Split) (13) -- (14)
AE: "Sniper Rifle" Blast 6 (Feats: Increased Range 2) (Flaws: Distracting) (8)
"Suit" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Guns 12 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4 (+6 Suit), Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Destroying Heroes)- Cross' early schtick was to try and Mind Control heroes to attack each other. If he'd only known how much simpler that would be...
Enemy (Hawkeye)- Cross soon became a recurring nemesis for Clint Barton, and it would soon grow into a blood feud.
Disabled (Cybernetic Replacements)- Crossfire is missing his left eye and ear, and 85% of the hearing in his right ear- without his cybernetics, his senses are drastically reduced.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 80--40 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 6 / Defenses: 14 (153)

-Crossfire started out as a generic villain for guys like Hawkeye (and debuted the way MANY aimless gimmick villains did- fighting in one of those Combo Hero books like Marvel Team-Up & Two-In-One), essentially being a Spymaster-type dude who used his CIA training to turn a profit. His backstory includes being nearly assassinated by some enemies, who cost him an ear and an eye. Crossfire actually started out fighting the Thing & Moon Knight in an attempt to destroy all super-heroes by using a mind control device to create a war between all the heroes (I mean, how outlandish can you get? A war between all the heroes? That would NEVER happen), but he escaped. After that, he soon became a recurring Hawkeye villain. Every once in a while he gets a minor push, but he's pretty generic and isn't that interesting, really.

-Despite the setback, Crossfire kept on his same old scheme, using his cousin's company as a means to produce the brainwashing device. In the Hawkeye Limited Series, the Avenging Archer ended up working at Cross Technologies as a security guard, and Crossfire sought to use him as a new guinea pig. He hired a variety of hired villains (such as the Silencer, Oddball & Bombshell) to take Hawkeye down, but consistently failed. The machine was destroyed and Crossfire was finally imprisoned. He hires the goofball villains the Death-Throws to spring him, but when they figure out he has to money, they use him as bait to lure in Hawkeye (after briefly considering killing him). Captain America & Hawkeye beat the villains and they're all sent to prison. In Solo Avengers, Crossfire puts out a hit on Hawkeye's right arm, hoping to destroy his career and spirit- an army of jobbers consisting of Razor-Fist, Brothers Grimm, Bobcat, Bullet Biker, Mad-Dog, and the Death-Throws looked to claim the reward, but were beaten by Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Trick Shot.

-After that, Crossfire was largely dropped. He was a one-shot in Avengers West Coast (film actress Moira Brandon is instrumental in defeating him, becoming an honorary Avenger in the process). He appeared as a random mercenary in Agent X and Secret War many, MANY years later, and was an escapee of The Raft at the beginning of Bendis' Avengers run. He & the Death-Throws are beaten by Sabra and Union Jack during a U.K. terrorist plot, then reappeared as a minion of The Hood in his army of criminals, finally betraying his boss when he went too far into "World-Conquering" schemes. All of this kind of leads to the one-time "Planner" villain now just being some generic goon. His distinctive appearance and cool name actually give him more impact in that role, though, as "Hawkeye's Worst Enemy" was clearly just not paying the bills. Despite that, he turned up fighting Hawkeye & Mockingbird in a later book, killing the modern Phantom Rider and getting badly beaten by Hawkeye. He was part of Misty Knight's "Villains For Hire" group, opposing the Purple Man's group- he was the only one not to turn on Misty for a better offer, citing professionalism and honor. However, he was still shot by Scourge. He has most recently turned up as a backgrounder in a coupld of books, appearing on the Shadow Council's Masters of Evil, and allying with the Hood again.

-Crossfire is equal parts Skillmonkey from Hell, and PL 8.5 Long-Range guy. He's good with a gun, but nowhere near Bullseye levels, so he's barely a moderate threat in combat. He's a Tech Guy who has a tendency towards using stuff like The Undertaker Machine, which can control people's minds over a wide area, so he could be gathering Devices or just sit-down and plug-in stuff for such purposes.

[KorokoMystia]

"You'll get caught up in the...CROSSFIRE!" Yeah, I always think of that commerical when I hear that word.
I kinda wonder if he got any sort of relevance bump due to Darren Cross (who I don't think you've built yet?) being a villainous Yellowjacket in the movies (and later comics)

[M4C8]

"You'll get caught up in the...CROSSFIRE!" Yeah, I always think of that commerical when I hear that word.
I kinda wonder if he got any sort of relevance bump due to Darren Cross (who I don't think you've built yet?) being a villainous Yellowjacket in the movies (and later comics)

They both appeared in the a recent Ant-Man series, the one where Scott moved to Miami and set up a security business.

[Jabroniville]

"'Where did this Mockingbird come from?' some of you may be asking. After all it isn't every day that a new super heroine is premiered in Marvel Team-Up. Well the story behind her creation is this: when I had been writing the Spider-Woman book one of my chief objectives was to build up a rogue's gallery that S-W could call her own. One of several characters I conceived and designed was Mockingbird. Showing the sketch to Steven Grant, writer about town, he helped me work out her powers and weaponry. Well I never got round to doing a Mockingbird story before I left Spider-Woman, so I put the idea on the back burner. Time passed, and Steven was searching for something new and different to do in Team-Up. He was toying with the idea some of us have had to revamp the Bobbi Morse character (of Ka-Zar and Super-Action fame). Somehow we got the notion to amalgamate the two concepts and make Bobbi Morse the Mockingbird (Anyone venture a guess why we abandoned the "Huntress" moniker?) All that was necessary was to change her hair and skin color since the original M.B. was going to be black. So that's the story behind the story."
-Mark Gruenwald, when Bobbi debuted the "Mockingbird" name.

MOCKINGBIRD (Barbara "Bobbi" Morse, aka Huntress)
Created By: Gerry Conway & Barry Smith (Roy Thomas & Mike Friedrich are mostly responsible, though)
First Appearance: Astonishing Tales #5 (June 1971- Bobbi), Marvel Super Action #1 (Jan. 1976- Huntress), Marvel Team-Up #95 (July 1980- Mockingbird)
Role: Black Canary Rip-Off, Martial Artist, Refridgerator Stuffing
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Great Lakes Avengers, The World Counter-Terrorism Agency
Avengers Grade: D-Level
PL 9 (145)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 13 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 7 (+9)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+8)
Expertise (Spy, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent) 6 (+10)
Insight 5 (+8)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 8 (+11)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Clubs) 2 (+12)
Sleight of Hand 8 (+10)
Stealth 7 (+12)
Technology 2 (+6)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Beginner's Luck, Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Battle-Staves, Kevlar), Fast Grab, Follow-Up Strike, Improved Critical (Battle-Staves), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8, Takedown 2, Uncanny Dodge

Equipment:
"Battle-Staves"
"Bo Staff or Clubs" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach 2, Split) (5)
"Thrown Staves" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Ranged 6) (Diminished Range -2) (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Battle-Staves +13 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Thrown Staves +12 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +14 (DC 14), Toughness +3 (+4 Kevlar), Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (Clint Barton)- Hawkeye & Mockingbird were married, then divorced, then she died and it turned out years later she was a Skrull, and now they're kinda... it's complicated.
Enemy (The Phantom Rider)- Mockingbird was mentally-dominated by the Phantom Rider, who likely slept with her during that time. She murdered him in revenge. This has come back to haunt her, both in her personal life, and by the man's ghost.

Total: Abilities: 68 / Skills: 74--37 / Advantages: 24 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 16 (145)

Bobbi's Early History:
-What IS it with the Avengers and screwed up stories as characters? Doing these builds, I encountered some F-ed up history about fifty times. Barbara "Bobbi" Morse is possibly one of the WEIRDEST. She started out as a Ka-Zar supporting character, acting like a possibly-psychic brunette Englishwoman at first, until they switched personalities almost immediately and made her a blonde special agent type. Roy Thomas & Gary Friedrich took over her characterization, moulding her into the character we know today, as "Agent 19" of S.H.I.E.L.D., who aided (and made out with) Ka-Zar until Shanna the She-Devil was added to the book to be the new love interest. So Bobbi became "The Huntress" in a one-shot adventure (Mike Friedrich had written it, and most of her more-recent appearances), but that failed to bring her any success. Then, Mark Gruenwald had a "Mockingbird" character made up to be a Spider-Woman villain, but he left that book and wanted to re-create her. Instead, he put that name on an updated Bobbi (the "Huntress" name was being used by Helena Wayne of DC's Earth-2 by that point), and threw her into Marvel Team-Up, which led to her MARRYING HAWKEYE and becoming a West Coast Avengers character for several years until she died. And then they resurrected her and do the usual modern-day "Farting Around In Random Books" thing!

-So yeah, initially Bobbi was in Ka-Zar as an Englishwoman, and was briefly a love interest who claimed to have psychic powers ("I can 'feel' people in miy mind!"), but Roy Thomas took over the book and started modifying her, and Gary Friedrich added more bits- she turned blonde and she was now called "Barbara". She finds her long-lost fiance in the Savage Land, and is led out by Ka-Zar. Then a random Man-Thing story features her as a scientist, so there's that. Finally, the storyline wraps up with her fiance claiming to be a double-agent for A.I.M., and Barbara is now a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, told to "pretend to love" Paul! Finally, Paul is killed by the Man-Thing and Barbara becomes "Bobbie Morse" as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in further stories, also a "lady biologist" and Ka-Zar's constant companion, and finally the two kiss after a couple of years.
-Finally, Shanna the She-Devil is added to the Ka-Zar stories (in another book, written by MIKE Friedrich), and Bobbi is now the secondary love interest, as Ka-Zar clearly prefers his lady equivalent. In 1974, Bobbie realizes this, and leaves the feature. Two years later, Bobbi appears as "The Huntress" in a one-shot from a black & white comic- Marvel Super Action #1 was put together by Editor Archie Goodwin & Mike F., who decided to draw upon Bobbi for what was mandated as a S.H.I.E.L.D.-based story.

Bobbi Becomes Mockingbird:
-Bobbi doesn't return until four years later, turning up as "Mockingbird" in Marvel Team-Up (1980). She, Spider-Man & Nick Fury put things right when she's mistaken for a criminal while investigating corruption within S.H.I.E.L.D. Naturally, this was after DC created its OWN "Huntress". So it took NINE YEARS for her to take the name 99% of people recognize her as. And then it took three MORE years until she showed up again in a 4-issue Hawkeye Limited Series! The two heroes initially find conflict, but they team up to beat the villain Crossfire, then grow so romantically attached that they friggin' ELOPE! Such off-the-cuff decision-making being pretty typical for Clint, it kinda made sense.

-Hawkeye & Mockingbird take part in Roger Stern's Avengers book until the Vision suggests they form a West Coast chapter of the team, leading to Mockingbird formally joining the Avengers! Stern's Limited Series soon leads to Steve Englehart's 42-issue run on The West Coast Avengers, featuring Bobbi as a charter member Martial Arts Chick who did a lot of the non-power-oriented stuff. In her most famous story, she had a run-in with the Phantom Rider (who brainwashes her into loving him... better known as "rape"), then chooses to let him fall to his death when given the choice to save him. Which became a pretty interesting moral story, most heroes didn't murder their foes outright, and it didn't set well with Clint. Bobbi being unapologetic messed him up, and the two briefly separate... then they did the CLASSIC "Comic Book Relationship Fumble", as they split up, hooked-up (teaching the Great Lakes Avengers how to be heroes in the process), split again (Roy Thomas wrote Hawkeye as not voting her onto the team, causing her to bail), got divorced, and fell back in love (when they AWC saved Bobbi after Ultron used her brain patterns to make his wife, Alkhema), just in time for Thomas to kill her off during the last couple issues of the West Coast book, finalizing the whole thing with a death, as she saves Clint's life from Mephisto and dies in his arms. The team splits up in the wake of her demise.

Mockingbird Returns:
-Finally, a full sixteen years after her death (and a mini-cameo in Mephisto's realm in a Kurt Busiek-written Thunderbolts story or two), Bobbi is returned to life during Secret Invasion, as it turns out that she was one of MANY heroes replaced by a Skrull. But, it turns out, that happened BEFORE she died, so the one that died was a Skull replacement! Jim McCann & Brian Michael Bendis brought her back as the big surprise, and she appears frequently in his New Avengers series. She & Clint get back together, but are explained as still being divorced (she was abducted just prior to the "Alkhema" thing). She is eventually mortally-wounded during a H.A.M.M.E.R. raid and is saved by an experimental knock-off of (everyone say it with me...) the Super-Soldier Serum, which combines with Nick Fury's Infinity Formula to make her as powerful as Captain America.

-Unfortunately, things kinda go off the rails after that point, as she & Clint split for whatever reason (she appears so little in Matt Fraction's Hawkeye book that I don't actually remember anything she did), various writers take over, and actually hooks up with Spider-Man in his own book! She very briefly got a Mockingbird comic in 2016, written by Chelsea Cain, who IMMEDIATELY went on the offense with an "Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda" t-shirt on a cover, and promptly re-wrote the old WCA rape story "because it took away her agency". This was... weird, as it completely retconned the establishing story so that instead, Bobbi didn't get victimized and take back her agency by refusing to save her rapist, but she instead cheated on Hawkeye, and Clint couldn't deal with it so concocted a story in his head regarding the whole thing. This was... insane and kind of pointless, and messes up God knows what, and ALSO makes both Bobby and Clint out to be worse people in the end (like WHY did Bobbi let the Rider die, then?), so it comes off as pretty dolt-ish. Especially because the book was a garbage seller and was cancelled after only eight issues- one of Marvel's many doomed "Flooding the Market" titles, even though it starred a female character with some history, and Marvel was/is big on publishing books like that. The funny thing is, reading parts of the TPB collecting the series, it never comes off as overtly feminist at ALL, so the whole "Feminist Agenda" cover seems like nothing more than a deliberate attempt to tweak noses in an aggressive, in-your-face kind of way.

Mockingbird As a Whole:
-Honestly, Bobbi was never a major character, and was WAY too much like Black Canary for my tastes (blonde martial artist in black uniform who is dating a blonde-haired male archer), though I'm not sure who went through the endless "Break-Up/Make-Up" cycle first. She wasn't even portrayed as an elite martial artist (U.S. Agent once said- and he meant it in a NICE way- "even if you can't really DO anything, you certainly improve the scenery around here"), and she wasn't really missed in the time since her death. However, she was kinda nice when she finally returned (it was a Skrull who died- the writers fought for her return the hardest out of all the characters), mocking Hawkeye's "Ronin" look, and Marvel gave her a bit of a re-push as the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" of the Marvel Universe post-Secret Invasion, teaming up with Hawkeye again. However, their new "Ongoing" was cancelled almost immediately, and despite her gaining the... oh god ANOTHER one... modified Super-Soldier Serum, she vanished into the ether and is now a total non-entity again. So it really never mattered that she was brought back.

Bobbi's Abilities:
-Mockingbird is a capable martial artist of the PL 9 variety, being almost as expensive as a PL 10, and she's very good at what she does. She's a notch under certain people with the same general set-up (Black Widow, etc.), but she's much better than she used to be, and depicted as a major-league ass-kicker. She's also got a bit of Agent training and some scientific skill to go with her fighting. With the Super-Soldier Serum/Infinity Formula (and I bet you a million dollars that she loses that upgrade as soon as the next writer forgets), she'll be a good bit stronger (ST 4, STA 4), and possibly gain Immunity to Aging. She'll even out to around PL 10 then, as I don't see her at PL 11 or anything.

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MOCKINGBIRD (Barbara "Bobbi" Morse)
Created By: Gerry Conway & Barry Smith (Roy Thomas & Mike Friedrich are mostly responsible, though)
First Appearance: Astonishing Tales #5 (June 1971- Bobbi), Marvel Super Action #1 (Jan. 1976- Huntress), Marvel Team-Up #95 (July 1980)
Role: Black Canary Rip-Off, Martial Artist, Refridgerator Stuffing
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Great Lakes Avengers
Avengers Grade: D-Level
PL 8 (122)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 5 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+8)
Expertise (Spy, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent) 4 (+8)
Insight 5 (+8)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Clubs) 2 (+10)
Sleight of Hand 6 (+8)
Stealth 5 (+10)
Technology 2 (+6)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Beginner's Luck, Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Battle-Staves, Kevlar), Improved Critical (Battle-Staves), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 6

Equipment:
"Battle-Staves"
"Bo Staff or Clubs" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Reach 2, Split) (6) -- (7 points)

• AE: "Thrown Staves" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Ranged 6) (Diminished Range -2) (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Battle-Staves +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Thrown Staves +10 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 12), Toughness +3 (+4 Kevlar), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Relationship (Clint Barton)- Hawkeye & Mockingbird were married, then divorced, then she died and it turned out years later she was a Skrull, and now they're kinda... it's complicated.
Enemy (The Phantom Rider)- Mockingbird was mentally-dominated by the Phantom Rider, who likely slept with her during that time. She murdered him in revenge. This has come back to haunt her, both in her personal life, and by the man's ghost.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 60--30 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (122)

-Mockingbird for most of her run looked like this. She was less-skilled overall, and was only a tad better than a PL 8 in terms of points, while being PL 7.5 defensively.

[marcoasalazarm]

(I've really come around to liking Miles as The Scarlet Spider).

Wait a second, where did that come from?