Brian BroydHORNET
Real Name: Eddie McDonough
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Student, adventurer
Group Membership: Formerly the Slingers (Dusk (St. Commons), Prodigy (Gilmore), Ricochet (Gallo)) (see comments)
Affiliations:
Dr. Coyles, Ricochet (Gallo), Spider-Man
(Parker), Susan Sawyer;
Enemies: Badoon, Brood, Brood Imperiatrix, Brian Broyd, Brother Royal, the Griz, The Hand, HYDRA, Jimmy Eyes, Mephisto, the New Warriors (Aegis (Rollins), Bolt (Bradley), Namorita, Nova (Rider), Speedball (Baldwin), Turbo (Musashi)), Rocket Racer (Farrell), Wolverine
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Gimp"
Base of Operations: Empire State University, New York;
formerly a "Welcome to New York" billboard
First Appearance: Slingers #0 (December, 1998)
Powers/Abilities: Born with a palsied right arm, Eddie McDonough developed an impressive understanding of science and mechanics. When wearing the Hornet suit, its gauntlets providing Eddie with the full use of his right arm, he had enhanced strength, durability, and flight abilities care of its winged backpack; the limits of those empowerments are unrevealed. Adding lasers to his gauntlets, Hornet was able to understand the suit's design enough to rebuild it.
History: (Slingers #6 (fb)) - Attending a freshman orientation his first day at Empire State University, Eddie McDonough was taken aback by fellow freshman Cassie St. Commons and dejected when she chose to sit next to Johnny Gallo. After the orientation Eddie asked Cassie if she wanted to do the group project assignment with him, but was told she'd already agreed to do it with Johnny. Johnny, while making a quick exit, invited Eddie to help out because he realized that Eddie's obvious intelligence would be an asset.
(Slingers #6 (fb)) - Eddie and Cassie followed Johnny to his meeting with the Black Marvel and Ritchie Gilmore. (Slingers #0 (fb) - BTS) - Eddie was accepted by the Black Marvel as the Hornet and given a replica of the suit previously worn by Spider-Man. With Cassie, Johnny and Ritchie as Dusk, Ricochet and Prodigy, they began training. (Slingers #0) - Hornet joined the others for another training session. Trying to encourage Dusk to leap across a rooftop, Hornet found himself growing more attracted to Dusk and was devastated when she chose to walk over the edge to her seeming death. They left Dusk's body behind in the alley at Prodigy's urging. (Slingers #1) - Eddie was shaken after Dusk's death and their decision to leave her behind. Ricochet tried to calm Eddie down over the phone. (Slingers #1 (Hornet Variant)) - Eddie opened a window in his dorm room for some air, and his phone and several papers were sucked out falling to the ground several stories down. Donning his Hornet suit to retrieve them, Eddie flew past a party (the kind, he noted, he doesn't get invited to), and gathered his things. Hearing a scream, Hornet flew up to a room, spotting comely Susan Sawyer being threatened by her boyfriend Brian Broyd. Crashing through the window, Hornet pushed Broyd away and went to tend to Susan. Accidentally calling her by name, Susan freaked out that Hornet knew who she was and ran out of the dorm room. Hornet left and set off for his and Ricochet's superhero-themed "Welcome to New York" billboard hangout. (Slingers #1) - Hornet discussed his feelings about Dusk's death with Ricochet. The conversation turned ugly with Prodigy's arrival and ended with him telling Hornet and Ricochet that Dusk was a liability. The next day, following a difficult mid-term exam, Eddie and Johnny ran into Ritchie on the ESU campus and the three suited up. (Slingers #1 (Hornet Variant)) - Hurrying to a nearby train station, Hornet tried to rescue a man from the path of an oncoming train. The man shot at Hornet, hitting one of his wings, causing Hornet to crash. Recovering, Hornet was able to save the ungrateful man. (Slingers #1) - Meeting at the billboard that night, a chill fell over Hornet and Ricochet, neither realizing that a resurrected Dusk was lurking nearby. (Slingers #2) - Entering a tunnel below the Maggia-funded Grand Royale hotel construction site, Hornet and Ricochet were attacked by mutated rat creatures. Running away from the hoard, Hornet was trapped when the tunnels collapsed on him. (Slingers #3) - His suit immobilized by the rubble and the air growing thin, Hornet passed out while Dusk teleported him to safety. Unable to recall the circumstances of his rescue beyond a familiarity to his rescuer, Hornet barely had time to recover before Spider-Man arrived (having attached a tracer to Ricochet during an earlier encounter). Hornet flew away, dragging Spider-Man behind. Stopping to rescue a tanker-truck driver from a potential accident, Hornet and Ricochet fled while Spider-Man tried to stop a traffic sign from collapsing.
(Slingers #5) - As the Grand Royale went up in flames, Hornet and Ricochet were saved from a collapsing floor by Dusk. Teleporting to the Black Marvel and confronting him over his planned destruction of the Grand Royale hotel to rebuild his own superhero career, Hornet left Prodigy to handle the Black Marvel and rescue trapped civilians. Hornet saved a young man stranded in an elevator shaft, given Prodigy's cape to protect the young man from the heat. Meeting up with Ricochet and Dusk outside the hotel as it collapsed, Dusk told Hornet and Ricochet that she was too weak to save Prodigy from the destruction.
(Slingers #6) - After working on his Hornet suit in a campus lab, Eddie left for the billboard. Reflecting with Dusk and Ricochet on the reasons for his acceptance of the Black Marvel's offer and what would have happened if it had been him on the rooftop instead of Dusk the night she "died", Hornet joined the others in a game of 'truth-or-dare'. As the game wrapped up, Hornet left for the night, returning long enough to see Dusk kiss Ricochet.
(Slingers #7) - After running into Susan (who apologized for Broyd's behavior the other day), Eddie was surrounded by the mutated rat creatures from the Grand Royale and dragged into a sewer. Eddie woke up in the lair of the humanoid rat creature "the Griz" and passed out again. Waking, chained to a wall, Eddie was freed by Ricochet and Dusk, who brought the Hornet suit with them. Left behind when Dusk teleported an injured Ricochet away, Hornet was left at "the Griz's" mercy.
(Slingers #8) - Dusk returned but was unable to rescue Hornet from "the Griz". The creature explained his origins and reasons for hating Hornet (he was the man who tried to kill himself on the train tracks), and escaped with him while his rat minions held Dusk back. Taking Hornet to a sewage treatment plant, "the Griz" fought Hornet, who, without his gauntlets, was all but helpless. Finally able to don his gauntlets, Hornet was able to hold back the rat creatures but not "the Griz". Teleporting in at the last second, Ricochet and Dusk knocked "the Griz" off Hornet and into a treatment tank to his seeming demise.
(Slingers #9) - Hornet trained with Ricochet and Dusk in Central Park. As Ricochet left to deal with the anniversary of his mother's death, Hornet, believing there was something between Ricochet and Dusk, excused himself so she could go after him.
(Slingers #10 (fb) - BTS) - Hornet created a new explosive "Ricochet disc" for Ricochet.
(Slingers #10) - Hornet met up with Dusk and Ricochet at the billboard, presenting Ricochet with the exploding disc. Ricochet revealed to Hornet and Dusk that the Black Marvel died in the hospital and that Prodigy survived the collapse of the Grand Royale hotel.
(New Warriors II#1) - Hornet and the others turned down Speedball's offer to join a relaunched New Warriors. Hornet and Ricochet laughed in his face at the offer.
(Slingers#10) - The superhero billboard came to life, the various heroes adorning it emerging and attacking Hornet and the others. Struck by "Captain America's" shield while air-lifting Ricochet away, Hornet recovered and fought the "Human Torch". Caught by the "Torch", Hornet and the others were pulled through the billboard, finding themselves before an imprisoned Black Marvel and Mephisto.
(Slingers #11) - Mephisto trapped Hornet and the others, and told them about the deal he made with an ailing Dan Lyons to reclaim his heroic identity of the Black Marvel. Offering to free the Black Marvel's soul if the four could forgive him for using them to further his own ambitions, Hornet and the others argued over what to do. Sent to face separate trials, Hornet fought giant crows, which he easily defeated, but his armor wasshattered and his body palsied. Recovering and rejoining the others, they arrived before Mephisto just as he called for his horde to test them as a team. (Slingers #12) - Dusk cleared the battlefield, and Hornet and the others were given the opportunity to leave Mephisto's realm. Choosing to save the Black Marvel, Hornet went after the crystal and found himself overwhelmed by Mephisto's forces. Deserted after the hoard went after Ricochet, Hornet was helped up by Dusk and joined the others in their stand against Mephisto. Removing his gauntlets, Hornet told Mephisto that he accepted them for their strength, but at that moment he'd never felt stronger. With the Black Marvel's soul saved, Hornet and the others returned to New York. Saying a tearful goodbye to Dusk, Hornet and Ricochet decided to look forward to what the future held. (Wolverine III#23 (fb) - BTS) - Hornet rebuilt his gauntlets and resumed his super-heroic activities.(Contest of Champions II#1/All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10 (Slingers)) - Hornet was among the group of heroes teleported off Earth to compete in a "contest of champions."
(Contest of Champions II#3) - Hornet, Dusk, Prodigy, and Ricochet, collectively referred to as "The Slingers", were reunited to compete against the New Warriors in a game of basketball. After a heated match, the Warriors were crowned the victors and the Slingers were teleported away.
(Contest of Champions II#5/All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10 (Slingers)) - The heroes, including the Slingers, were separately returned to Earth.
(The Loners #2 (fb)) - Continuing to hang out with Ricochet, in and out of costume, Hornet grew to love being a costumed hero and accepted the responsibility that came with his powers. (The Loners #2 (fb)) - Hornet encountered the Rocket Racer. (The Loners #2 (fb)) - Hornet tried to get Ricochet to rejoin him as a costumed adventurer, while Ricochet tried to talk Hornet into giving up his suit. One night Hornet called Ricochet, begging for his help. Ricochet laughed and turned the invitation down.
(Wolverine III#23 (fb) - BTS) - A few hours after being turned down by Ricochet, Hornet arrived at Stark Enterprises, amid the chaos of an attack by a brain-washed Wolverine and a hundred HYDRA agents.
(Wolverine III#23/The Loners #2 (fb)) - Hornet tried to stop the attack, but was badly injured by Wolverine who slashed Hornet across his chest. A S.H.I.E.L.D agent later remarked that his "guts were hanging out like spaghetti".
(Wolverine III#23 (fb) - BTS) - Attempts were made to save Hornet's life, but he soon died.
(Wolverine III#23) - Nick Fury and Elektra arrived at Stark Enterprises twenty minutes after S.H.I.E.L.D agents dug Hornet's remains out of the rubble. Misidentified by the other agents as Spider-Man, Fury and Elektra corrected them, Fury lamenting that Hornet died in battle and they couldn't even get his name right. Noting HYDRA's alliance with the Hand, Elektra drew her blade to decapitate Hornet before he could be resurrected as a brain-washed agent.
Comments: Created by Joseph Harris and Adam Pollina
Slingers #0 was released as an insert in Wizard Magazine #88.
Slingers #1 shipped with four different covers, each spotlighting one of the four leads. More than just a cover gimmick, each variant included different story pages, eight near the beginning of the issue giving a different interlude with each character, eight near the end of the issue with a different view of their actions during the train disaster. The pages specific to the Hornet variant are noted as they appeared along the pages carried in each version.
Hornet received a profile as a member of the "Slingers" in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10.
The Eddie McDonough Hornet appears in Avengers Forever #12 as one of the Avengers "plucked" from various eras and universes (confirmed in the #12 annotations).
One final note about "The Slingers": Although the team has been referred to as "The Slingers" in several Marvel titles (including both Civil War handbooks) and by several Marvel characters, at no point in the actual Slingers comic did Hornet or the others refer to themselves by this name. Johnny Gallo (Ricochet) affirmed this in Runaways II#1. It's obvious why the name is used for the characters (writers mistakingly assuming it was the group name), but there's been no in-story explanation for its use. The only incident where the name was used as a title for Hornet and company in their presence was in Contest of Champions (as noted in the Group Membership listing), and since the characters did not refer to themselves as such, it is used loosely as a name for the group (at least by those of us who remember it was never supposed to be the team name and stubbornly hold to that).
CLARIFICATIONS: Hornet has no known connections to
Hornet should not be mistaken for:
(Slingers #1) - Brian Broyd caught the Hornet's attention while shouting at his girlfriend Susan and throwing things across their dorm room at her. Crashing into the room, Hornet slammed Broyd into a wall. Released, Broyd fled.
(Slingers #3) - Broyd and Susan ran into Eddie in a stairwell. Susan accidentally knocked Eddie's books down and was helping to gather them when Broyd entered and pulled Susan away, asking her what she was doing with "that gimp" and telling her she was was stupid. (Slingers #7 - BTS) - Susan apologized to Eddie for Brian's behavior in the stairwell, explaining that he can be 'protective' at times.
--Slingers #1 (3, 7)
(Slingers #6) - Eddie McDonough's science "adviser", Dr. Coyles was in the ESU labs while Eddie was modifying one of his gauntlets. Suspecting Eddie was in the lab but unable to get past the locked door, Coyles pushed it open, moments after Eddie was able to don the Hornet suit and sneak out through the window.
--Slingers #6
(Slingers #1) - Threatened by her abusive boyfriend Brian after a misunderstanding at a campus party, Susan Sawyer was rescued by Hornet. Swooning over her masked hero, Susan became frightened when Hornet called her by name. She ran from him, back to Brian.
(Slingers #3) - Running into Eddie in a dormitory stairwell, Susan accidentally knocked Eddie's books down. Stopping to help him gather the books, Susan was dragged away by Brian, who asked her what she was doing with "that gimp", and telling her she was stupid. (Slingers #7) - Susan ran into Eddie and apologized for Brian's behavior in the stairwell, explaining he can be 'protective'.
--Slingers #1 (3, 7)
images: (without ads)
Slingers #1 (Hornet Variant), p14, pan5 (Main Image)
Slingers #1, p21, pan4 (Eddie McDonough)
Slingers #4, p18, pan6 (Vs. Prodigy)
The Loners #2, p12, pan4 (Hornet's Death)
Slingers #1 (Hornet Variant), p11, pan1 (Brian Broyd)
Slingers #6, p2, pan6 (Dr. Coyles)
Slingers #7, p4, pan4 (Susan Sawyer)
Other Appearances:
Slingers #0 (December, 1998) - Joseph Harris (writer), Adam Pollina (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #1 (December, 1998) - Joseph Harris (writer), Chris Cross (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #2 (January, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Chris Cross (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #3 (February, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Chris Cross (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #4 (March, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Oscar Jimenez (pencils), Felix Alpuente (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #5 (April, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Chris Cross (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #6 (May, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Chris Cross (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #7 (June, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Greg Luzniak (pencils), Bob Almond with Jimmy & Peter Palmiotti (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #8 (July, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Greg Luzniak (pencils), Bob Almond with Candelario & Minor (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #9 (August, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Chris Cross (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Contest of Champions II#1 (September, 1999) - Chris Claremont (writer), Oscar Jimenez (pencils), Eduardo Alpuente (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #10 (September, 1999) - Joseph Harris (spinning straw into gold), Chris Cross (pressing gold into coin), Don Hillsman & Rob Stull (polishing gold to a gleam), Ruben Diaz (tipping the ferryman in straw turned to gold)
Contest of Champions II#3 (October, 1999) - Chris Claremont (writer), Oscar Jimenez (pencils), Eduardo Alpuente (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
New Warriors II#1 (October, 1999) - Jay Faerber (writer), Steve Scott (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Slingers #11 (October, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Javier Saltares (pencils), Perrotta, Mahlstedt (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Contest of Champions II#5 (November, 1999) - Chris Claremont (writer), Oscar Jimenez & Michael Ryan (pencils), Eduardo Alpuente & Livesay (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Slingers #12 (November, 1999) - Joseph Harris (writer), Javier Saltares (pencils), Minor, Perrotta, Ramos and Rubenstein (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Wolverine III#23 (February, 2005) - Mark Millar (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Jennifer Lee (editor)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10 (October, 2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator)
The Loners #2 (July, 2007) - C.B. Cebulski (writer), Karl Moline (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Last updated: 05/21/09
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
