Issue(s): Nomad #4
Cover Date: Aug 92
Title: "Neon knights"
Credits:
Fabian Nicieza - Writer
Pat Olliffe - Penciler
Mark McKenna - Inker
Mike Lackey - Assistant Editor
Glenn Herdling - Editor

Review/plot:
Pat Olliffe becomes the regular penciler beginning this issue. I like Olliffe, but it seems like Mark McKenna's inks have a lot to do with the look of this series, since even though i can definitely recognize Olliffe's style, the book still looks a lot like the previous issues.

This is the second part of Dead Man's Hand. The last we saw of Nomad in part one, he and Daredevil were trying to figure out what was going on in Las Vegas. You might think that would have resulted in a Team-Up, but Nomad is back on his own (well, he's with Bucky) at the beginning of this issue.

We actually start with a character i never would have expected to see here. It's "Legs", one of Nomad's friends that we met last issue. She was a local prostitute in LA. But she's been brought to Las Vegas by a client, Troy Donahue, and he's being pursued by Bushwacker.

This gets a little complicated. Troy's ex-wife is Bushwacker's sister-in-law. And Troy took their baby (i don't know if that means he got custody or he just ran away with the baby or what; the baby is not with him in Vegas). Bushwacker is currently on the outs with his wife, and he thinks he can get on his wife's good side if he can get his sister-in-law's baby back. So that's why he's after Troy. This of course has nothing to do with the cabal of criminals that are meeting to split up the Kingpin's former domain, but i guess life will intrude.

Nomad is in the area when Bushwacker tries to kill Troy.

Bushwacker was making a lot of religious references in his appearance in Daredevil annual #8. That's not the case in this story, where he's just desperate and crazy.

Troy and Legs manage to get away from Bushwacker thanks to Nomad.

It turns out that Troy is part of the criminal cabal. He works for Lotus, the mastermind that has been appearing in Wonder Man's book.

Someone else has joined the meeting as well: Mr. Tolliver, from X-Force.

In the first chapter of this, Tombstone was definitely a subordinate of Hammerhead ("his current Maggia superior"). In the image above, it sounds like they each represent a different splinter group (or rather that Tombstone represents the Maggia and Hammerhead represents a splinter).

It's actually in this issue that the others learn that the Word works for the Red Skull. Again, it's weird that the Red Skull is somehow in charge of divvying up the Kingpin's organization, with his minion putting out prospectuses.

But as i said, for this story it's best to just live in the moment and not worry about what's going on. The important thing for this issue is that Tolliver has a problem with Lotus, so Troy now has two enemies in town.

Meanwhile, Nomad finds Legs at Troy's apartment, and tries to get her out of town, and asks her to take Bucky with her. That's also our Mountain Dew product placement scene for the issue.

After sending Legs away, Nomad goes after Troy. But before he can get any info out of him, Deadpool - sent by Tolliver - attacks.

At the end of this issue we'll get confirmation that "After I got Bucky -- after what happened in Alaska -- I said I wouldn't kill anymore". That's why his shotgun is always loaded with blanks or scattershot.

While Nomad is fighting Deadpool, Bushwacker catches up with Troy. Troy lies and tells Bushwacker that Bucky is in fact the child that Bushwacker is looking for. Bushwacker leaves, but then Deadpool shows up and kills Troy. Deadpool and Tolliver then go home; i guess Tolliver didn't really have any interest in getting a share of the Kingpin's former empire.

Bushwacker catches up with Legs, seemingly kills her, and leaves with Bucky.

Nomad, who just barely survived his fight with Deadpool, is not aware of this.

Note that Bucky's costume has changed color for this issue. It will revert to the blue and red during this story, so i guess it's just a coloring mistake (it will also get a third color scheme in Punisher War Journal). I actually like the green and yellow, but of course the whole point is that she's Bucky, so she should wear the Bucky color scheme.

Also in this issue, Silvermane lurks at a motel where the Punisher will be staying starting next issue.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is part two of Dead Man's Hand. Part three is in Punisher War Zone #45.

References:

• Nomad mentions running into "someone who had an unhealthy curiosity about west coast shipping activity". That was in Nomad #1.
  
• Nomad's line about "after what happened in Alaska" refers to Nomad #4. He got Bucky in Nomad #3.

Crossover: Dead Man's Hand

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

"Hey, sexy boy -- nice hair -- where's Donahue at?"

I don't get this joke at all.

Eh, it's Deadpool, is it supposed to make sense? (I'd say put it as a 2 due to this being the first non-X appearance of Deadpool, except that it's still Nicieza and he's the only writer using him so far)

@Robert, I don't think it is a "joke", per se. Deadpool is just making a comment on Nomad's hair (and good looks). Given that Nomad's hair is longer than usual for a man, people do sometimes make comments on it--both positive and negative.

It's the Donahue part that threw me. I assumed he was talking about Phil Donahue, the daytime talk show host from back in the day. But now I realize I glossed over the part where fnord says the client Troy's last name is Donahue. So now I get it.

I didn't realize Deadpool was calling men sexy this early.

Uhm. Yeah, that's my comment on this issue. Make of that what you will.

Can we please get a consistent take on whether or not Bushwacker's face is scarred? It was unscarred in Deathlok 5, scarred in Daredevil Annual 8 and unscarred in this story.

Is this the first indication that Deadpool's face is messed up under that mask?

I don't think any of these crime-lords are supposed to be idiots - so why didn't most of them leave when they found out the Red Skull was involved?

Never work with the Red Skull; not necessarily because he's a Nazi, but because he's the worst partner/employer/whatever in the entire world.

...Also because he's a Nazi...

Poor Andrea Strucker, looks like she didn't get an invitation to the big boys' meeting...

Is there any historical significance to the glimpse of Tolliver's face on pg 16? I know he isn't Apocalypse, but he looks kind of like him in panel 7...I'm not 100% on what kind of games the X-staff were trying to play w/ Tolliver & Tyler back then, or if they'd revealed his face in any earlier appearances...

George, i believe that's Silvermane on page 16. I've added a scan to the bottom of this entry.

If you're talking about the other, shadowed, images of Tolliver in this issue, i take that to just be a way of trying to keep his features hidden even though it's a bit implausible. So i don't think we're meant to get any revelations out of what we do see.

Oh ok, I see...yeah, that was who I meant.