West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #29
Dead Run!
Having escaped the custody of the West Coast Avengers, Taurus, the last surviving member of the Zodiac cartel has come to the Shroud to suggest an alliance.[1] What Taurus doesn’t know is that the Shroud is only posing as a criminal in order to destroy the Los Angeles underworld from within.[2] That’s when Moon Knight arrives. The emissary of Khonshu has come to get revenge against Taurus for reneging on a promise he made to the moon. The Shroud uses this as a cover to escape.
In the ensuing battle with Taurus, Moon Knight suddenly finds himself struggling with his three personalities — mercenary Marc Spector, playboy Steve Grant, and taxi driver Jack Lockley — this allows Taurus to try and escape.[3] Fearing for his life, Van Lundt steals a car in an attempt to flee the scene.
However, Moon Knight follows after him in one of the Avengers sky-cycles. Lundt tries to blast Moon Knight out of the sky, but crashes his stolen car in the process. Unsure if Moon Knight died in the crash, Taurus then flees into the nearby forest.
Meanwhile, the Shroud contacts the Avengers to tell them of his recent encounter with Moon Knight and Taurus. When Tigra explains why Moon Knight is after their foe, Hawkeye isn’t sure he believes it but orders everyone to head out.[4]
Later that evening, Taurus has found his way to a local airport where he tries to force a pilot to fly him out of the area. However, the pilot turns out to be Moon Knight in disguise. In the ensuing fight, Van Lundt suddenly realizes that there is nobody piloting the plane and pushes Moon Knight outside in an attempt to make the hero plunge to his death. Instead, Moon Knight grabs hold of the plane and causes it to pitch wildly out of control. In a panic, Cornelius tries to shoot Moon Knight with his Star-Blaster damaging the plane and sending into a tailspin, while Moon Knight uses his cape to glide away.[5]
As Moon Knight begins to fall, he is rescued by Iron Man who carries him to a nearby Quinjet. There, Hawkeye reams him out for going off against an Avengers foe by himself and cautions him against doing so in the future if he wants to become a full time member of the team. Hawkeye also takes particular issue with the fact that Moon Knight appeared to be trying to kill Taurus. Mockingbird surprising him by suggesting that maybe this team of Avengers should relax their stance on killing.[6] While Tigra agrees, Iron Man and Hank Pym — both founding Avengers[7] — are against anything that could tarnish the Avengers reputation. Hawkeye decides that this is a discussion for back at base and heads for home. Watching the Quinjet head back to Avengers Compound is the Phantom Rider.[7]
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Hank Pym, Wonder Man, Tigra, Moon Knight), Shroud, Taurus, Khonshu (voice only)
Continuity Notes
Taurus came to the Avengers for help after the Life Model Decoy Zodiac seemingly killed nearly every member of the crime cartel of the same name. Van Lundt promised to go straight afterward but went back on his promise and escaped. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #26-28.
The Shroud has been posing as a criminal since Marvel Preview #21.
Marc Spector suffers from dissociative personality disorder since childhood, as seen in Moon Knight (vol. 9) #9-10. More recently, Marc used the three identities as part of his early crime fighting career since Marvel Spotlight #28. Going mad trying to keep these identities in check, Marc stopped using them following the events of Moon Knight #37-38.
Tigra mentions how Hawkeye met Khonshu. This was during a trip into the past where the moon god brought Hawkeye back from the brink of death. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #21.
Although left ambiguous here, the Van Lundt profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition #20 confirms that he died in this plane crash. As of this writing (February, 2022) Cornelius has remained deceased.
In West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17-23, Mockingbird was kidnapped by the Phantom Rider (Lincoln Slade) who forced a love potion on her. After breaking free from its spell, she allowed the allowed the Phantom Rider to fall to his death. She has kept this a secret from her husband and won’t tell him the truth until issue #35.
Iron Man and Hank Pym (as Ant-Man) helped found the team back in Avengers #1.
This is not the Phantom Rider that Bobbi killed, but his Modern Age successor who first appeared in Ghost Rider (vol. 2) #56. We will find out in issue #31 that Hamilton is possessed by the spirit of his ancestor who is seeking revenge for Bobbi letting him die.
