Swamp Thing (Volume 2) Issue 85

## "My Name Is Nobody"

"*It was on his dyin' day Pappy sprung me the biggest surprise of all. That's when he tol' me about the visitor. And about a certain prophecy I'd have to fulfill at the end of m'own life.*"
―Hawk
## Synopsis

### "My Name Is Nobody"

**1872**
The aging frontier heroes Firehair and Hawk ride out across the California desert. They come upon a thatch of spiky, gnarled trees, upon which are impaled the bodies of several German mercenaries and their horses. One of the trapped figures, the bounty hunter, Jonah Hex, is still alive, however. Firehair and Hawk help Jonah down and Jonah explains that they are near the home Lazarus Lane, aka, El Diablo.

Some distance away, Johnny Thunder, his wife Madame .44 and the gambler Bat Lash are surveying the Lazarus estate. Inside of Madame .44's coach is the insensate body of the mystically endowed Super-Chief. They witness a cloud of green smoke emanating from the house. Bat Lash regrets accepting this scouting job from the German princes who hired them. Inside the house is the aging Apache, Wise Owl, who is in possession of the power of an Earth elemental.

From a nearby peak, the Native American shaman Black Bison openly challenges Wise Owl's power. The green smoke from the hacienda takes the form of a nightmarish face and spins like a tornado towards Black Bison. It's elemental fury transforms Black Bison into a tree.

In the confusion, El Diablo (controlled by Wise Owl) rides out of the green smoke, grabs Johnny Thunder, and rides back with him towards the hacienda. Madame .44 wants to go rescue her husband, but Bat Lash feels that Thunder's absence is a great opportunity to put the moves on her. This tactic does not work in Bat Lash's favor, however.

At the hacienda, Wise Owl shows the captured Johnny Thunder the glowing amber that gives him his power. He explains that the amber houses the essence of an Earth elemental (which is actually the time-lost Swamp Thing). He makes Johnny an offer. He knows that his nephew, Hawk, possesses a missing fragment of the amber rock called the Claw of Aelkhünd. It is the only thing that can free the elemental and thus defeat him. He wants Thunder to kill Hawk and retrieve it for him.

Meanwhile, Hawk and Firehair draw closer to the scene. They come upon the petrified Black Bison and Hawk uses the Claw to free him. They then come upon Johnny Thunder and Madame .44's wagon, where they find Bat Lash, who was hog-tied by Madame .44 after he refused to help her rescue Johnny Thunder.

At the hacienda, Madame .44 brings Super-Chief with her and crashes through the front window. She gives Johnny his revolver and together they shoot Wise Owl down. With Wise Owl dead, the power that kept El Diablo enslaved to him is lifted. Super-Chief grabs the amber block and shatters it above his head. With the block destroyed, the Swamp Thing is able to manifest himself once again. At first, they mistake Swamp Thing as a threat and try to shoot him. Bullets have no effect on him, and he uses his elemental control to subdue the crazed Super-Chief. Hawk and Firehair approach the estate and the Swamp Thing explains who he is and how he has been tripping backwards through time.

Madame .44 takes a photograph of the assembled heroes outside the Lazarus spread, including Swamp Thing, as he hopes that one day, his family will see it and know that he is alright. Hawk decides to include the photograph in his memoirs.

Later, Hawk meets with Jason Blood and Otto von Hammer. It was Otto who had commissioned the other gunslingers to survey Lane's property. Aware of the role that destiny has in store for him, Hawk gives the Claw of Aelkhünd to Otto and suggests that he place it in a special room in his family estate in Germany.

**The Present**
Liz Tremayne is reading Hawk's memoirs titled, *Hawk, Son of Tomahawk*. She finds the photograph which includes Alec Holland and shows it to Chester Williams. Chester, meanwhile is terrified that the cops will arrest him for marijuana possession, after they came to investigate the death of Matt Cable.

## Appearances

### "My Name Is Nobody"

* Swamp Thing
* Bat Lash
* El Diablo
* Firehair
* Hawk
* Jonah Hex
* Johnny Thunder
* Madame .44
* Super-Chief
* Black Bison
* Wise Owl ***(Final appearance; dies)***
* Lucifer the Horse ***(Cameo)***
* Jason Blood
* Otto von Hammer

#### Items

* Black Bison's Coup-Stick
* Black Bison's Talisman
* Claw of Aelkhünd
* Manitou Stone

## Notes

* The Johnny Thunder from this issue is not to be confused with Johnny L. Thunder, master of the Thunderbolt and former member of the Justice Society of America.
* The means by which Hawk comes into possession of the Claw of Aelkhünd is explained in *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #86.
* The Black Bison that appears in this issue is the great-grandfather of John Ravenhair, the current Black Bison. He appears next in *Firestorm* Vol. 2, #1.
* Jonah Hex's presence in this issue really serves no purpose other than to bring together all of DC's classic Western heroes.
* This issue states that Hawk's mother, Moon Fawn, was of Cherokee descent. Other issues portray her as an Apache.
* Since the prophecy stated that Hawk was to transfer the Claw to another at the end of his life, it may be assumed that he passes away only a few short years following this issue.

## Trivia

* *Hawk, Son of Tomahawk* is not only the name of Hawk's memoirs, but is also the name that has been classically attributed to him. It was also the secondary title for the *Tomahawk* comic book series beginning with Hawk's debut in *Tomahawk* #131.
* Jason Blood is an immortal occultist who is also the demon known as Etrigan. Jason's interest in the amber fragment stems back to the year 1800 as chronicled in issue #86.
* Otto von Hammer is the father of famed World War I pilot, Hans von Hammer, aka, the Enemy Ace. Enemy Ace was last seen in *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #83 which takes place twenty-six years after the events from this issue.
* The glowing pendant that gives Super-Chief his powers is called the Manitou Stone.
* Traditionally, Super-Chief wears a blackened bull hide that completely covers his face. It's absence in this issue is probably so readers wouldn't confuse him with Black Bison, who wears a similar headdress.
* Jonah Hex is the only famous Western character featured in this issue who is not included in Madame .44's photograph.

## External links

* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 85 on DC Wiki
* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 85 on Comic Vine