The Avengers #189

"Wings and Arrows!"

In the aftermath of the confrontation with Arsenal (see Notes below), Thor is departing once again. After bidding Jarvis farewell, he soars through the sky and narrowly misses colliding with Falcon who is just returning to the mansion after a solo adventure.

Falcon returns to see the mansion abuzz with reservist Avengers who were called in to help with the Arsenal case. He uses the retinal scanner to verify his ID and officially return to active duty. Upon seeing Hawkeye, Sam pulls him aside and apologizes for having to replace him but Clint will have none of it. After insulting him, Clint storms away in a huff once again.

Yellowjacket has just received a call from the Wasp who is in Las Vegas (working alongside the Defenders). Her quinjet was destroyed and she, therefore, needs a ride home. Hank leaves in a second quinjet to pick her and the Defenders up. Wonder Man leaves as well, stating that he has to get to rehearsals for the play he’s performing in.

Cap reports into Gyrich (on a viewscreen) in Washington D.C. He informs him that the reserve members are all gone now. For once, Gyrich seems pleased as the active team roster has settled down to those members he personally selected. All that’s left is to demote Ms. Marvel to reserve membership and things will be fine. Except...the Scarlet Witch announces she wants to extend her leave of absence for a while longer. This comes as a shock to everyone, including the Vision. Gyrich is outraged and bellows in rage, telling them not to move an inch until he gets there. Wanda is surprised at the reaction to her announcement.

Hawkeye returns to his apartment, a dingy studio walk-up, to find rejection letters galore. He gets a letter from Jarvis saying that reserve Avengers are getting a $200 a month retainer fee, which won’t even cover his rent. In the want ads, he zeroes in on a security guard job at something called Cross Technological Enterprises.

The next day, the chief operating officer at CTE arrives to work and is informed that there has been another break-in at the warehouse. As he makes his way to his office, the manager ponders how thieves could possibly be making their way through their high-tech security parameters. But he’s surprised to find Hawkeye awaiting him in his office, seated at his desk! Hawkeye offers his services as chief of security, reasoning that if he can manage to break into his offices, he should be able to outwit any thieves.

Hawkeye scores the gig! On his first night on the job, an intruder breaks into the warehouse and He investigates. The intruder is Deathbird, Ms. Marvel old’s foe. They duke it out and Hawkeye is wounded in his bow-arm. But after a grueling fight, Hawkeye outwits her and wraps her up in a titanium mesh net. Afterward, Deathbird is being led away by security guards but promises revenge on Hawkeye. He plants a big kiss on her to remember him by and walks off as she sputters, much to the amusement of the guards.

The next day, Jocasta returns to the mansion after taking a stroll. She finds the whole team in a standoff with Gyrich. Fed up with what he believes is the teams’ obstinate behavior, Gyrich tells them that “this is the end of the Avengers.”