VILLAINS FOR HIRE

In 2010, following the conclusion of the Shadowland storyline that ran through DAREDEVIL and other titles, Marvel debuted a new version of the old classic HEROES FOR HIRE series. In this instance, the group is run by Misty Knight, who was under mind-control throughout much of the series and featured heroes including Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Punisher, Black Widow, and Paladin. Once freed from the4 mind control, most of the team bailed on her but Misty restarted the group with Spider Man as its’ first member. Following the conclusion of that series, Marvel has a four issue limited series (five if you count the all important 0.1 issue) called VILLAINS FOR HIRE.
 
In the 0.1 issue, Misty is back in action sending her players out on various missions. This time around the players include Paladin, Daimon Hellstrom,  Black Panther and Silver Sable.  What we learn at the end of the adventure is that Zebediah Killgrave the Purple Man and Headhunter are running the operation. Apparently they were going to run this little venture from the start but it was Misty who ended up doing it her way. Thus Villains for Hire is born.
 
In issue #1,  Avalanche, Death Stalker, Scourge and Shocker are out on a mission of retrieval when suddenly it becomes a villain war as Tiger Shark, Nightshade, Bombshell and Crossfire arrive to take the package. What they find in the armored car is evidence boxes-one important one in particular. Back at an “undisclosed location”, we discover  the key piece of evidence is a PDA with numerous offshore back accounts on it. We also discover the person responsible for the second group of Villains-Misty Knight.
 
In issue #2, it's another battle as Killgrave's crew goes head to head and toe to toe with Misty Knight's bunch. In the end, Misty's team gets away with a small fortune's worth of Adamantium etched ISO-chips. So The Purple Man sends out Headhunter to go recruit. And recruit she does at the infamous Bar with No Name, bringing back Bombshell and Tiger Shark in the process. They send out Scourge to take down Misty Knight and what happens-she gets into a beef with paladin and takes him out. Now things gets interesting!
 
Hey…it’s another trip into weirdness by the kings of great storytelling Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. These guys always impress and this book is no exception, with killer dialogue and a cool story. Renato Arlem does great art…his Misty Knight looks so incredibly hot it’s scary!  Of course let's mention that there is a MAJOR screw up on the first page of issue #2 as the title page shows the two rivals crews and credits them to the wrongs bosses. OOPS! Some proof reader just lost their gig!
 
Jump on this title now because I have the feeling this will eventually lead to a regular series when it's all said and done.