SKYHAWK

Real Name: Winston "Billy Boy" Manchester

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Finance consultant, businessman

Group Membership: Earth Force (Earth Lord/Kyle Brock, Wind Warrior/Pamela Shaw)

Affiliations: Susan Austin, Bes the God of Luck, Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Code: Blue (Daniel "Fireworks" Fielsten, Julius "Mad-Dog" Rassitano, Samuel "Mother" Majowski, Margarita "Rigger" Ruiz, others), Lawrence K. Covey, Hogun the Grim, Horus, Harley Kosinski, Odin (Odin Borson), Thor (Odinson)

Enemies: Bloodaxe (Jackie Lukus), Demons of Despair, Grog the God-Crusher, Seth

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Master of Flight, Billy Boy

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: Thor I#395 (September, 1988)

Powers/Abilities: After being transformed by the god Seth, businessman Winston Manchester became Skyhawk, with feathered wings extending from his arms to his rib cage. Possessing super-strength that allows him to lift/press up to ten tons, Skyhawk is a master flyer, capable of flying far distances and weaving in and out of targets in the air as he flies. In his human form, Skyhawk possesses the golden mark of Aton on his palm, and he can transform when he presses his palms together.

Height: (As Manchester) 5'11"; (as Skyhawk) 6'3"
Weight: (As Manchester) 130 lbs.; (as Skyhawk) 210 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

History:
(Thor Annual I#16/5 (fb) ) - In college, Winston Manchester received the nickname "Billy Boy." He made a best friend, Lawrence Covey, with whom he competed over girls, sports, school politics, and grades, but Manchester was always better at tennis, considered the eastern division champion. After graduation, they were business rivals, with Manchester once signing the client Harley Kosinski before Covey could. Over the years, Manchester worked holidays, nights, and weekends to get further ahead, sacrificing any personal life, and Covey grew more and more jealous, eventually turning to criminal activity (such as industrial espionage, corporate sabotage, and bribery) to cause Manchester's business to struggle. When Manchester finally confronted Covey, Manchester suffered a heart attack the same day, and was rushed to the hospital.

(Thor Annual I#16/5 (fb) - BTS) - Manchester hovered on the brink of death for weeks.

(Thor I#395) - The god Seth appeared before the souls of Winston Manchester, Kyle Brock, and Pamela Shaw and rescued them from the brink of death, offering them a chance to serve him as super-powered operatives. Using the sign of Aton, the Sun God, Seth transformed Pamela into Wind Warrior, the Mistress of the Tempest; Manchester into Skyhawk, the Master of Flight; and Brock into Earth Lord, the Tower of Strength. Calling them Earth Force, Seth sent them back to the hospital and ordered them to kill Hogun the Grim, a patient there, promising to let them continue to live if they served him. The Earth Force was surrounded by a S.W.A.T. team. More eager for battle, Skyhawk rushed against the cops and then the attacking Thor. As doctors and nurses rushed to get patients to safety, Thor placed Hogun and his medical team, in the middle of a critical operation, in a force field, and Earth Force did their best to fight their way through. When Thor rushed to save a vulnerable patient, Skyhawk attacked him, but Earth Lord and Wind Warrior had second thoughts, not wanting to trade the lives of others for their own. Wind Warrior took Skyhawk against his will in a whirlwind, along with Earth Lord, and they rushed away to reassess their circumstances.

(Thor I#396 (fb) - BTS) - The members of Earth Force realized they had been manipulated by Seth and that they wanted to fight against him instead.

(Thor I#396) - Earth Force returned to Thor and Hogun and heard that Asgard was under siege by Seth. They made peace with the heroes and promised to help them fight. Thor arranged for the team to get a ride to the Rocky Mountains with the Black Knight, where they questioned Grog the God-Crusher, another Seth-powered super-villain. When Grog opened a portal to Seth's dimension, they followed him through and wound up in Seth's dimension of death. Overwhelmed by the demon forces of Seth, the heroes tried their best to fight back, but Wind Warrior was overwhelmed and fled. Thor and the others were swiftly overwhelmed by Seth's demons.

(Thor I#397) - Thor, Earth Lord, Skyhawk, Black Knight, and Hogun the Grim were kept by Grog and the demons in Seth's dungeons, bound to the wall as they slowly sought to break free. Soon, Thor broke free of his chains and freed his allies, and they turned the fight against Grog and the demons, then prepared to take the war to Seth.

(Thor I#398) - Earth Lord, Skyhawk, Thor, Hogun, and Black Knight fought through the forces of Seth's demons and Grog until they found an unexpected ally in Bes, the God of Luck, who had been aiding Seth in his plans of conquest; sensing a change in fates, Bes guided the heroes in a new direction, to the Black Pyramid, where they faced more guards before finding Odin (who was previously believed dead by Thor) captured there.

(Thor I#399) - Skyhawk and Earth Lord watched as the others freed Odin, then Grog and the Demons of Despair attacked. Wind Warrior used her powers to break into the Black Pyramid, then she led Horus and the others inside, where she found her allies in battle. Skyhawk and Earth Lord were thrilled to see Wind Warrior alive.

(Thor I#400) - As Odin called to the gods of Asgard to rise up in final battle with Seth, Earth Force vowed to help them see the fight to the finish, though Skyhawk had doubts they would survive. Soon, Earth Force attacked Seth directly, but Seth easily defeated the team with blasts of power. Despite their defeat, Earth Force bought the Asgardians and Black Knight enough time to regroup, and Seth was soon defeated. The Asgardians used their powers to heal the Earth Force members, returning them to Earth in their human identities, with the sign of Aton still on their hands.

(Thor I#456 (fb) - BTS) - Manchester started working at a financial consultant firm.

(Thor I#456) - When he saw Bloodaxe battling Code: Blue, Earth Lord summoned Skyhawk and Wind Warrior, through their Aton signs, and they rushed to his aid, cancelling their work days to do so. Earth Force attacked Bloodaxe while civilian Susan Austin was rushed to safety on Wind Warrior's winds. When Earth Lord and Skyhawk were overcome by Bloodaxe's strength, Wind Warrior generated a large whirlwind that nearly tore her apart, then she launched it at Bloodaxe as Code: Blue tossed in fireworks. When the smoke cleared, Bloodaxe was gone, and Earth Force was celebrated for their heroism.

(Avengers Assemble I#1 - Skyhawk) - Earth Force was selected as the team to guard and protect the state of Washington as part of the the Fifty States Initiative.

(Civil War: Front Line#11) - Skyhawk was seen flying near the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.

(Avengers: The Initiative#19 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Skyhawk was captured and replaced by a Skrull.

(Avengers: The Initiative#19 - BTS) - When a Skrull takeover of the Initiative was revealed, the Skyhawk Skrull revealed himself as Jocasta and Dice of the Skrull Kill Krew closed in.

(Avengers Assemble I#1 - Skyhawk) - After the Skrulls were defeated the real Skyhawk was freed alongside many other Skrull prisoners.

Comments: Created by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Brett Breeding.

While Earth Force was appointed as the guardians of Washington state during the Fifty State Initiative, but no members of the team were actually shown except for a Skrull version of Skyhawk.

Earth Force have a profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89#2 (August, 1989). Skyhawk has his own profile in Avengers Assemble I#1 (July, 2010).

Thanks to Markus Raymond for adding Civil War: Front Line#11 and the bits from the Avengers Assemble handbook.

Profile update by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Skyhawk has no known connections to:

Lawrence K. Covey

(Thor Annual I#16/5 (fb) ) - In college, Winston Manchester received the nickname "Billy Boy." He made a best friend, Lawrence Covey, with whom he competed over girls, sports, school politics, and grades, but Manchester was always better at tennis, considered the eastern division champion. After graduation, they were business rivals, with Manchester once signing the client Harley Kosinski before Covey could. Over the years, Manchester worked holidays, nights, and weekends to get further ahead, sacrificing any personal life, and Covey grew more and more jealous, eventually turning to criminal activity (such as industrial espionage, corporate sabotage, and bribery) to cause Manchester's business to struggle. When Manchester finally confronted Covey, Manchester suffered a heart attack the same day, and was rushed to the hospital.

(Thor Annual I#16/5 (fb) - BTS) - Manchester hovered on the brink of death for weeks as Covey, wrestling with alcoholism as he lost the joy of business. He began failing regularly.

(Thor Annual I#16/5) - After months of struggle, Covey jumped off a building to kill himself, but he was rescued by Skyhawk, who listened to Covey talk about his failings and his guilt over Billy Boy. Skyhawk showed Covey the city and convinced him to want to live, and Covey never realized that Skyhawk was Billy Boy himself.

--Thor Annual I#16/5 (Thor Annual I#16/5 (fb), [16/5 (fb)], 16/5

Harley Kosinski

(Thor Annual I#16/5 (fb) - BTS) - Businessman Winston Manchester recruited client Harley Kosinski.

--[Thor Annual I#16/5 (fb)]

images: (without ads)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89#2, p47, pan2 (main)
Thor I#456, p9, pan4 (William Manchester)
Thor I#456, p10, pan5 (Skyhawk)
Thor Annual I#16, p35, pan3 (Lawrence Covey)

Appearances:
Thor I#395 (September, 1988) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Brett Breeding (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#396 (October, 1988) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Don Heck (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#397 (November, 1988) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Brett Breeding, Don Heck (inkers), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#398 (December, 1988) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Don Heck (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#399 (January, 1989) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Romeo Tanghal (inker), Ralph Macchio (Editor)
Thor I#400/1 (February, 1989) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89#2 (August, 1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Josef Rubinstein (penciler), Andy Yanchus (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Thor Annual I#16/5 (July, 1991) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Herb Trimpe (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#456 (December, 1992) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#11 (April, 2007) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Ramon Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#19 (January, 2009) - Dan Slott, Christos Gage (writers), Harvey Talibao, Bong Dazo (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 12/08/2020
Last updated: 12/08/2020

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