“Yesterday’s” Comic> Heroes For Hire #2

Who has to wear the Penance suit now? My vote’s Hercules!

Heroes For Hire #2

Marvel Comics (August, 1997)

“Blowup!”

WRITER: John Ostrander

PENCILER: Pascual Ferry

INKER: Jaime Mendoza

COLORIST: Joe Rosas

LETTERER: Jonathan Babcock

EDITOR: Joe Rosas

The Heroes are hired to stop Nitro The Exploding Man, who has himself been hired to blow up  a rail yard, but thanks to Hercules ignoring the plan in favor of battle, he manages to escape and destroys the place. Meanwhile, Dane Whitman, the former Black Knight, is contacted by Jim Hammond for his science skills and his hero identity, but he’s struggling with both and himself. After meeting with the zoo to decide what will happen to the previous Black Knight’s steed (later stolen by Dreadknight, who is currently incarcerated) the Lady Of The Lake appears in a lagoon and brings him to Avalon. There he is told to be the new Pendragon and is given new armor, a magic shield and sword, and a new winged mount, Strider, all of which can be mystically summoned when needed. When Nitro goes after Wall Street, the heroes head out to face him, and after realizing what happened to him was real, so does The Black Knight. Meanwhile, the U-Foes capture Luke Cage and bring him to the Master.

What they got right: The Black Knight should make an interesting addition to the team and his new powers and connection to Avalon should prove interesting.

What they got wrong: Maybe he can replace Hercules. I know he has fans and this is strictly a personal opinion rather than a critical one, but I don’t like Hercules, at least as a team member. On his own he can do what he wants but rushing into battle like Leroy Jenkins and not realizing losing his immortality means he can’t hold his liquor anymore either (despite retaining his other powers) makes him a liability on top of that. Plus the 90s keeps trying to mess with the artwork.

Recommendation: Two issues in and I’m still enjoying it. There are some interesting ideas but what they do with it will determine how well the comic ultimately is. Still worth checking out at this point.