Go West, Young Gods!

Searching for Hawkeye through time, Thor and Moondragon have been brought to the year 1873 by their ally Immortus. There, they are confronted by the legendary heroes of the American Frontier: the Two-Gun Kid, the Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt, the Ringo Kid, and the Night Rider. Thor is unphased by their drawn guns and summons a powerful storm to disburse the cowboys. When the Rawhide Kid mentions that they are working with Hawkeye, Thor stops the storm and asks that they be brought to their missing ally.

Riding on horseback, Thor and Moondragon are taken to the town of Tombstone, Arizona. Inside the law office of Matt Hawk, Thor and Moondragon are delighted to see that Hawkeye is alive and well. Once pleasantries are out of the way, Hawkeye explains how he ended up in this. He reminds them that he used Doctor Doom’s time machine to try and reach the 12th Century to try and convince the Black Knight to return to the present and rejoin the Avengers. As the platform sent him across the time-stream, he was ambushed by Kang. Striking the time-traveler with a blast arrow, Hawkeye found himself plummeting through time and appearing in the middle of the Arizona Desert in the 1800s. Stripping off the upper part of his costume, he went to the nearest town and was shocked to see a futuristic citadel in the middle of a western town. With the townspeople in some kind of a trance, Hawkeye used his knowledge of history to pay a visit to Matt Hawk, whom he knew was also the Two-Gun Kid. Hearing this, Immortus has figured that his Kang — his past self — has come to the 19th Century to conquer it to pave the way to his conquest of the present day, something the Avengers have been able to prevent until now.[1]

Meanwhile, in the present day, the rest of the Avengers have been captured by Roxxon CEO Hugh Jones with the assistance of the Squadron Supreme. They are now being contained in a cage constructed by Doctor Spectrum’s Power Prism. Patsy Walker is furious that her ex-husband — Buzz Baxter — is still loyal to his employers despite their questionable business practices. Confident that their adversaries are trapped, Jones and his minions all leave. Once they are gone, Captain America tells the others that he has come up with a plan.

Back in the old west, the Avengers there have deduced that Kang will likely need uranium to power his futuristic weapons. With a supply of the material coming on the Pecos train, Hawkeye figures Kang will try a heist. While Thor is eager to charge into battle, Hawkeye points out that this needs to be a more subtle operation. Thor and Moondragon go undercover in era-appropriate clothing and board the train, while Hawkeye and the gunslingers trail it by horseback. Sure enough, Kang has hired some local criminals to try and rob the train. Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid lead the charge and they are able to take down all of the outlaws without the help of either Thor or Moondragon. With the train heist foiled, Hawkeye fires a flare signaling his friends to rejoin them. With the uranium heist foiled, Hawkeye decides it is time to take the fight to Kang directly.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Moondragon, the Beast), Patsy Walker, Immortus, Kang, Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt, Ringo Kid, Night Rider, Roxxon/Brand Corporation (Hugh Jones, Buzz Baxter), Squadron Supreme (Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, Whizzer, Golden Arrow, Lady Lark), Steel, Thunder, Nightwind, Arab, Banshee

Continuity Notes

1. Kang’s conquest of Tombstone, Arizona is depicted in more detail in Avengers Forever #4-6. It is also expanded upon in Fantastic Four Annual #25, Avengers Annual #23 and Avengers Forever #8.

Topical References

• References to the Modern Age taking place in the 20th Century should be considered a topical reference. The Sliding Timescale has pushed this era forward that it does not begin until the 21st Century.