History
Early life
Dr. Barbara "Bobbi" Morse was born and raised in San Diego, California. She excelled in school and later attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in biology, earning a PhD under Dr. Wilma Calvin.[9][10]
S.H.I.E.L.D.
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Agent-19
She joined Dr. Calvin in working on Project: Gladiator. The project was backed by S.H.I.E.L.D., who wanted to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that created Captain America. During the course of the project, S.H.I.E.L.D. trained Bobbi to be a spy, and she was given the codename Agent 19.[9][11]
The team for Project Gladiator consisted of Dr. Ted Sallis and Dr. Paul Allen, whom she was ordered to start a relationship with.[12] Dr. Allen and Ellen Brandt were revealed to be working for A.I.M.. They sabotaged the project, transforming Sallis into the Man-Thing.[10]
She traveled to the Savage Land with Dr. Paul Allen in search of Ka-Zar[13] However their plane crashed, with Paul being saved by Ka-Zar and Barbara being rescued by the British of New Britannia.[14] It was revealed her engagement on with Paul was a sham on S.H.I.E.L.D. orders due to her suspicion that he was involved with A.I.M.[15] In Florida, Allen was destroyed by Man-Thing, who was once Barbara's colleague, Dr. Theodore Sallis.[16] With Ka-Zar, she traveled to New York[17] and helped defeat Victorius, who had taken a sample of Super Soldier Serum from Sallis and Calvin's experiments.[18] After they defeat Victorius, Ka-Zar and Zabu returned but not before Ka-Zar and Bobbi shared a farewell kiss.[19] She later visited the Savage Land again to help on his many adventures,[20] but ultimately returned home to the United States.[21]
Huntress
Bobbi was later recruited by a US Senator to investigate corruption in a Latin American branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. She dropped out of S.H.I.E.L.D. and became the costumed operative, Huntress. But when the threat was defeated she returned back to her S.H.I.E.L.D. duties[4]
Mockingbird
Barbara's penchant for taunting her opponents in battle earned her the code name of "Mockingbird". She was sent on a mission by Nick Fury to stop Carl Delandan; on the way she teamed up with Spider-Man. During this mission, a misunderstanding caused some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to shoot at her, and she spent some time in a coma.[22] Afterwards, she decided to fake the death of her civilian identity in order to keep her family safe.[23]
She was one of the many heroes recruited in the Contest of Champions.[24]
Cross Technological Enterprises
Morse was a freelance agent when she met Clint Barton, a.k.a Hawkeye. At the time, he was serving as chief of security for Cross Technological Enterprises.[25] During this time, they were kidnapped by Crossfire, who wanted to use hypnotic ultrasounds to force superheroes to kill each other.[26] Hawkeye and Mockingbird defeated Crossfire, but Hawkeye suffered hearing damage due to the villain's ultrasound technology. Hawkeye and Mockingbird eloped a few days later.[1]
West Coast Avengers
Now married, they returned to join the Avengers as a couple.[27][28][29] The Vision, then Avengers chairman, appointed him to head a new branch of the team based on the West Coast.[30] Hawkeye chose Bobbi as one of his team members, along with Iron Man, Wonder Man, and Tigra.[31] Clint and Bobbi served as the motivating force behind the team.[32]
Mockingbird
The team moved to the new Avengers Compound.[33] They battled villains such as Goliath,[34] Blank,[35] Graviton,[36] Maelstrom,[37] Quasimodo,[38] Doctor Demonicus,[39][40] the Vision when he went rogue[41] and the Dire Wraiths.[42]
Lost in the Past
One of the western team's most fateful adventures had Kang the Conqueror scatter them across time. They encountered an Old West vigilante gang consisting of the Phantom Rider, Two-Gun Kid and Rawhide Kid, and joined with them to fight a large criminal outfit headed by the evil Iron Mask.[43] The Phantom Rider came to believe that Mockingbird was a goddess, and since he was one with the spirits, that she should be his mate. After they had vanquished Iron Mask's gang, the WCA decided to try going back to the time of Kang's reformed self, the Pharaoh Rama-Tut, in order to try and get themselves home. Just before leaving, the Rider kidnapped Mockingbird and rode away.[44]
With the rest of the WCA in ancient Egypt, Mockingbird was given an Indian love potion and temporarily forgot her old life and fell in love with the Phantom Rider, who revealed his secret identity as Lincoln Slade. However, Two-Gun and Rawhide were on his trail, determined to recover Barbara. They found the two, but Mockingbird, under the influence of the potion, fought them alongside Lincoln, and she and the Rider escaped.[45]
However, as time passed Mockingbird began to slowly fall out of the influence of the potion, and when Two-Gun showed up in a makeshift Hawkeye outfit to jog her memory, she finally broke free from Lincoln's influence. She implied that Lincoln had raped her — having had intercourse with her while she was drugged — and rode off to kill the Phantom Rider. Two-Gun and Rawhide were alarmed, knowing the good the Rider had once done and not wishing to kill him, only to see him brought to justice. Mockingbird told them the fight was hers alone, and Two-Gun reluctantly held Rawhide back from following her.[46]
Mockingbird confronted the Phantom Rider on a mountain peak he held sacred and in the fight that followed, Lincoln Slade fell from a cliff. He managed to grip the edge of the cliff with his fingers, but in the slickness of the rain that was coming down at the time, he was losing his grip. Mockingbird stood and watched him fall, doing nothing to save him. There was some justice in this, but it also broke the Avengers' code of no killing.[47]
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Hawkeye & Mockingbird
Back to the Present
Eventually, Hawkeye returned to bring Mockingbird back to the present with the rest of the WCA, as the local Indians buried Lincoln in a cave tomb. Meanwhile, the spirit of Lincoln Slade continued to torment Bobbi in the present day. Lincoln Slade's great-great-grandson Hamilton had discovered his ancestor's tomb and become a modern-day Phantom Rider. Lincoln's spirit possessed him, and while doing some good in the world (founding the Rangers for instance), this new Phantom Rider began to haunt Mockingbird in revenge.[48] Sometime after the first attack, Bobbi tracked down Hamilton Slade (who was unpossessed at the time), assaulting and nearly killing him before being stopped by Moon Knight.[49]
Later, as part of his revenge, the Phantom Rider told Clint a version of the events of his death, and Bobbi and Clint argued over the acceptability of Avengers taking a life. This argument led to the couple separating. Along with Tigra and Moon Knight (who had joined after helping the rest of the team in Egypt), Bobbi left the team.[50] They briefly formed a more proactive splinter group, thwarting the High Evolutionary (with aid from Bill Foster) and battling the Night Shift.
Bobbi's breakoff team found Hamilton Slade, who again had no memory of his exploits while possessed. Realizing Hamilton too was a victim, Bobbi sought out Hellstorm and Hellcat to help her exorcize him. Upon performing the ceremony, the onlookers were shocked to see two spirits rise from Hamilton — that of Lincoln, as expected, but also that of Carter Slade, his great-great-uncle, the original Phantom Rider, whom Lincoln had taken over for when the former met an untimely death.
Carter's spirit had recognized the madness that afflicted Lincoln even in death and was battling Lincoln's spirit for dominance within Hamilton as he knew that possessing poor Hamilton and leaving him with no memory of events was wrong. Carter's spirit eventually subdued Lincoln's and when Daimon Hellstrom was prepared to banish Lincoln's spirit forever Carter agreed to go with him, to forever ending his brother's menace. However, knowing that Carter's spirit was a force for good and did not deserve banishment, Hamilton Slade, at the exact moment of banishment, willed Carter's spirit to enter his body, transforming him again into the Phantom Rider. After this, Mockingbird parted ways with her fellow ex-WCAers, with Tigra returning to active duty and Moon Knight returning to New York. Mockingbird remained an Avenger, but only in reserve capacity.[51]
The rift between Bobbi and Hawkeye grew when Mockingbird proved instrumental in a plot by several world governments to abduct and dismantle the Vision for his near-takeover of the world, giving them access to the Avengers Compound. Bobbi initially believed the plot was only a "contingency plan", only to learn it was being put into action, with additional steps like a false Ultron and incapacitating the Scarlet Witch that put her friends' lives at risk. Bobbi tried to stop the plot and was imprisoned for a time, only escaping to warn the Avengers after it was too late to save the Vision.[52]
Great Lakes Avengers
Hearing that a Midwestern-based team was using the name "Great Lakes Avengers", Hawkeye took Mockingbird along with him to investigate. After determining that these "impostors" had no malicious intent, Clint and Bobbi took it upon themselves to train this neophyte crimefighting team.[53]
In the wake of the Avengers receiving a United Nations charter, both active teams were revamped. Bobbi received only one vote to become an active member. Hawkeye had left the GLA earlier to return to the AWC, and Bobbi assumed he was one who voted for her. Clint rejected the idea, asking why he would ever vote to have his ex-wife hanging around.[54] Bobby later found out it was USAgent who cast a vote for her, mostly to bug Hawkeye.[55]
Operation Galactic Storm
After Operation Galactic Storm (during which Bobbi was part of the team of reservists who remained on Earth), the West Coast team and Vision encountered Ultron once again. This time, he was accompanied by his latest "mate", Alkhema, whose brain patterns had been based on Mockingbird's. Alkhema, however, turned on Ultron, and the Avengers won the day. Clint, who had recently re-assumed his Goliath identity, seemingly managed to reconcile with his estranged wife at this time.[56]
Skrull Imposter
In fact, a Skrull kidnapped Bobbi and replaced her with a sleeper agent called H'rpra prior to Bobbi and Clint's reconciliation. She went through the Skrull Infiltration Ritual which gave her all of Bobbi's memories and abilities. She served with the team for some time. But H'rpra/Bobbi was captured by Satannish the Supreme, the AWC embarked upon what would be their last mission. The team battled the combined forces of Satannish and Mephisto. During their escape, Bobbi was killed by Mephisto.[57] Shortly thereafter, the Vision disbanded the West Coast team.[58]
Return
Clint & Bobbi
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Barbara and Clint reunited
After the climactic battle between the Skrulls and Earth's heroes during the Secret Invasion, the individuals replaced by Skrull agents were revealed to be alive and well, including Bobbi. She was apparently one of the first people captured and replaced, with this occurring sometime between the start of her relationship with Clint and her apparent "death."[59][60] The returned Mockingbird then joined her estranged husband and his teammates in the New Avengers.[61]
World Counterterrorism Agency
Bobbie formed her private spy organization, the World Counterterrorism Agency, or WCA. She was joined on her first mission by her husband, Clint Barton, as Ronin.[62]
Clint & Bobbi
New Avengers
After Norman Osborn was replaced by Steve Rogers, the Avengers teams were reorganized and Bobbi joined Luke Cage's team.[63]
Jaime Slade
She and Clint separated after a particularly intense WCA mission involving a new Phantom Rider. Jaime Slade became possessed by her great-great-great granduncle, Lincoln, after an encounter with the heroes.[64] When in pursuit of criminals, the two had nearly wrecked the vehicle Jaime was riding in, damaging parts of the artifacts she'd discovered with her father, one of which was the urn holding Lincoln's ashes.[65] That night, Lincoln's spirit visited both Mockingbird and Jaime, giving Jamie powers and compelling her to seek out another foe of Mockingbird and Hawkeye, Crossfire.[66]
Over the Edge
Clint & Bobbi
During a confrontation with Superia, she was grievously injured. To save her life Clint had Nick Fury inject her with a formula that was a functional combination of the Infinity Formula and the Super Soldier Serum.[8]
Secret Avengers
Mockingbird joined S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own Avengers team.[67] During a mission to murder the Scientist Supreme of A.I.M., Bobby was left on A.I.M. Island[68][69] with no memory of how she got there, and had to impersonate an A.I.M. agent during her involuntary stay for months.[70] She was discovered, and brainwashed into siding with A.I.M., being one of her first actions the murder of her fellow teammate Taskmaster.[71] Bobbi managed to break from the control and was rescued by her fellow teammates. During a fight against Yelena Belova, Mockingbird used her holo-camouflage on her in order to disguise her as Mockingbird and have her shot by A.I.M. instead of her.[72] She was, however, found and confronted by Andrew Forson. Bobbi fought and defeated him, and left to live under the radar along with Daisy Johnson and Bucky Barnes.[73]
Bobbi teamed up with Agent Melinda May and together battled against a band of super-powered monstrosities created by Dr. Lucien Geist.[74]
S.H.I.E.L.D Liason
Bobbi was later assigned by Nick Fury to be the official S.H.I.E.L.D liaison to Parker Industires[75], who at the time; were developing new tech for S.H.I.E.L.D. Here, she helped Spider-Man take down Mister Negative's operation in Shanghai [76], disband Zodiac[77], and destroy Norman Osborn's Goblin Army.[78]
Relationship with Lance Hunter
Sometime later, she got romantically involved with Lance Hunter and their relationship was going quite well, in spite of the fact that Bobbi (by mistake, Freudian slip, or just for teasing him) often called him Clint, her ex-husband.[79]
Hunter wakes up after Bobbi calls him 'Clint'
Secret Empire
After Hydra and reality warped Steve Rogers took over the United States[80], Mockingbird joined the Underground to resist Hydra's rule and joined a team tasked with retrieving the remnants of the sentient Cosmic Cube Kobik to restore the brainwashed Steve Rogers to normal.[81] After returning to the Underground's hideout The Mount with the rest of the team, Mockingbird let an unidentified person know that the trip only resulted in the recovery of two shards. At first, it was implied to be Hydra[82], but when confronted about her communication, Mockingbird revealed that she was actually talking with Maria Hill in secret. Hill was planning a major attack against Hydra, and Mockingbird was trying to convince her to hold off her attack until the Underground retrieved more Cosmic Cube shards.[83]
Post-Secret Empire
_and_Barbra_Morse_(Earth-616)_from_Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_789.jpg){kind=link}
Sharing their first "real" kiss
Attributes
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Powers
- Super-Human Enhancements: Due to the formula she was injected with, Bobbi has a degree of super-strength, with an unknown upper-limit, strong enough to dent steel with her bare hands, and Enhanced Agility. Her healing speed was also accelerated, being able to heal all the catastrophic wounds that put her in a comatose state. Her aging process has been seemingly halted for good.[86]
Abilities
- Biochemist: Bobbi is skilled in biochemistry.[87]
- Skilled Acrobat: She is a talented acrobat.[87]
- Master Martial Artist: Bobbi is skilled in multiple martial arts and several forms of hand-to-hand combat, including kung fu and Tae Kwon Do. She is known to be extremely dangerous when fighting in close quarters. She is also familiar with a wide range of weaponry.[87]
- Skilled Spy: Mockingbird is well-versed in espionage. She also speaks fluent Spanish.[62]
Weaknesses
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
Transportation
Notes
- Morse's first appearance was intended to be in a Len Wein/Neal Adams story in Savage Tales #2 (intended for mid-1971). This story was presented in flashback in Astonishing Tales #12 after she had been appearing since the sixth issue. She took on the Mockingbird identity in Marvel Team-Up #95.
- Mockingbird was one of the many heroes featured in the battle between the DC and Marvel Universes.[88]
Trivia
- Mockingbird is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent level 6.[89]
- Bobbi Morse's astrological zodiac sign is Gemini.[90]
- In New Avengers (Vol. 2) #11 Bobbi is 30 years old.
See Also
- 476 appearance(s) of Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 21 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 51 minor appearance(s) of Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 61 mention(s) of Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 15 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 323 image(s) of Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 23 quotation(s) by or about Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 1 victim(s) killed by Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
- 1 item(s) used/owned by Barbara Morse (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hawkeye #4
- ↑ Avengers #400
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #6
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Marvel Super Action #1
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #9
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades Handbook #1
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #11
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 New Avengers (Vol. 2) #13
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Hawkeye #2
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Astonishing Tales #12
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #18
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #13
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #6–7
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #8–10
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #11
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #12–13
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #15–16
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #17–18
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #19–20
- ↑ Ka-Zar (Vol. 2) #3–4
- ↑ Ka-Zar (Vol. 2) #5–8
- ↑ Marvel Team-Up #95
- ↑ Hawkeye & Mockingbird #2
- ↑ Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1
- ↑ Hawkeye #1
- ↑ Hawkeye #2–3
- ↑ Avengers #239
- ↑ Captain America #292
- ↑ Fantastic Four #265
- ↑ Avengers #242–243
- ↑ Avengers #244–245
- ↑ Avengers #246
- ↑ West Coast Avengers #1
- ↑ Iron Man Annual #7
- ↑ West Coast Avengers #2
- ↑ West Coast Avengers #3–4
- ↑ Avengers #250
- ↑ Avengers #253
- ↑ Iron Man #193–194
- ↑ Iron Man #195–196
- ↑ Avengers #254
- ↑ Rom #65–66
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #18
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #19
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #20
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #21–22
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #23
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #31
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #32
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #34–37
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #41
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #42–43
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #46
- ↑ Avengers: West Coast #69
- ↑ Avengers: West Coast #81
- ↑ Avengers: West Coast #87–92
- ↑ Avengers: West Coast #100
- ↑ Avengers: West Coast #102
- ↑ Secret Invasion #8
- ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #19
- ↑ New Avengers #48
- ↑ 62.0 62.1 New Avengers: The Reunion #1
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Hawkeye & Mockingbird #1–2
- ↑ Hawkeye & Mockingbird #3
- ↑ Hawkeye & Mockingbird #5
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #2–3
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #4
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #6
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #7–8
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #12–13
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #14–15
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #16
- ↑ S.H.I.E.L.D. (Vol. 3) #8
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #8
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #11
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #28
- ↑ Mockingbird: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary #1
- ↑ Secret Empire #1
- ↑ Secret Empire #2
- ↑ Secret Empire #5
- ↑ Secret Empire #6
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #789
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #791
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2) #8
- ↑ 87.0 87.1 87.2 87.3 87.4 87.5 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #7
- ↑ JLA/Avengers #3
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #33
- ↑ Mockingbird #3
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 4) #7
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 7