| Ad Astra: Astro City: What happened in V2 #10-13 |
Hiram Potterstone was a gifted inventor, happy with his work until the day he was mandatorily retired from his job at Edgeco. When he tried to find new work, he was rejected by every company as being too old. Bittered by his experiences, he swore he would show them all he was still capable of doing great things and started a new life as the supervillain Junkman.
And he succeeded. Without anybody knowing it was him, he successfully robbed the Astrobank, with all of it's advanced security devices. Now *he* is finally ready to retire and retire he does. Living the jet set life in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Monte Carlo, Paris and Tokyo, he does the things he always dreamed of.
But something is wrong. Somehow, despite everything, he's not happy. More and more he feels like he's fleeing something, using his new experiences as hiding places. What especially upsets him is the respect of people for the heroes, their hero worship. He feels he's slighted, because after all, he committed the perfect crime by robbing the Astrobank without anybody knowing it was him. Which is exactly the problem... Nobody knows it was him...
So he devises a plan. Going back to the US, he starts a new crime spree, beginning in Detroit, home to a bank with the same security system as the Astrobank. However, something goes wrong while he's robbing the bank and the Acceleration Ace, M.P.H, arrives to stop him. Which is harder then it looks, something M.P.H. finds out when the Junkman defeats him with ease. The Junkman then takes his leave, after getting a third of the available cash,
The next target of his crime spree is a jewelry store in the French quarter of New Orleans, whose resident hero, the Black Rapier is somewhat more of a detective then M.P.H. and intercepts the Junkman before he even reaches his target. Still, the Junkman manages to escape, by launching a giant inflatable beach toy full of "choking, deadly gas" into the city.
While recuperating from his fight with the Rapier, Hiram is following the media's coverage of his crime spree, noting that the emphasis in the stories lays with the heroes thwarting him. Personally, he's confident that his plans will succeed. A confidence which may be premature, seeing what happens on his next outing.
For his last robbery, the Junkman chooses the same bank where it all began: the Astrobank Tower in the business district of Astro City. Following exactly the same procedure as he did the last time, its no surprise to him that Jack-In-The-Box is waiting for him; this time, he doesn't escape. After a short fight, Jack manages to subdue him.
But even though he's caught, Hiram doesn't seem to worry much. The reason becomes clear at his trial: he wanted to be caught, so that the world could learn of his brilliance. He'll allow the prosecution to tell exactly what he did and how after which he'll escape. As he thinks to himself, "it should be a delightful show".
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: Serpent's teeth
It was a normal day for Zachary Johnson, alias Jack-In-The-Box: fighting the Brass Monkey, working on new toy designs for his company, getting home to his girlfriend, Tamra Dixon, and heading out again after hearing gunshots.
But what started as a normal evening, will not stay that way. Reacting to the gunshots, Jack-In-The-Box arrives on the scene just as a drugs dealer is executed by a strangely familiar vigilante. Jack-In-The-Box, shocked by the he sees, demands to know who the stranger is...
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: It happened one night...
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: In the spotlight
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