Howard the Duck Vol 2 1

Pro-Rata watched the car as he learned that the trio was headed for Cleveland. Back at Skudge Hospital, Winda Wester watched over a comatose Paul, moments before he opened his eyes.

Somewhere on Interstate 80, Lee's car crashed off the road, into a ditch. When it was raining, Beverly spotted a house on a hill and she and Lee decided to go to it, but Howard was reluctant to go before being struck by lightning. When they arrived at Fairer Fowl Farms, a man with a pitchfork named Hank Skidoo reluctantly let them inside. Howard was frightened when he saw birds mounted inside of the house, as well as when he encountered the host, Mr. Chicken. When Lee, Beverly, and Hank entered the room, Howard lashed out at Mr. Chicken for "screwin' with feathered folk."

As a result, Mr. Chicken had Skidoo take Howard and Beverly to a factory called The Coop while Lee was able to escape and run for help. Howard and Beverly were about to escape the factory before Mr. Chicken stopped them and shot feather darts. Howard accidentally ran into the ejector control of his conveyor belt, shooting eggs at Mr. Chicken. Lee crashed a car into one of the Coop's walls and escaped with Howard and Beverly. Mr. Chicken ordered Skidoo to assemble the hunting hens, but the latter turned on the former.

Howard, Beverly, and Lee finally reached Cleveland.

Interlude:
They arrived at their destination on the outskirts of Cleveland: To Hack And Back Taxi Garage, which Lee acquired after selling his diner in New York. Lee brought in Claude Starkowitz to help him renovate the garage, much to Howard's annoyance, as the duck remembered nearly being killed while wearing the Iron Duck Armor that was ineffective against Doctor Bong.

Howard and Beverly argued outside of the garage before the latter left to find an apartment. After seeing an advertisement for duck hunters, Howard rushed back to the garage and begged to work in exchange for shelter. Pro-Rata hid and watched after Howard saw the flyer he placed meant to keep him in Cleveland.

Appearing in "Chapter Two: The $64,000 Desperado"

Featured Characters:

Howard the Duck

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Jackpot, The One-Armed Bandit (First appearance)
The Financial Wizard

Other Characters:

Archie Sloan
Claude Starkowski
Winda Wester
Paul Same
Dino Digitalis
Master Chaaj (Mentioned)

Locations:

Earth-616
- United States of America
  - Ohio
    - Cleveland
      - Cleveland Taxi Commission
      - Downtown
        Bets-R-Off
      - Warehouse District
  - Pennsylvania
    - Skudge

Synopsis for "Chapter Two: The $64,000 Desperado"

Howard, Beverly, and Lee waited at the Cleveland Taxi Commission. After Howard's application was processed, Howard was forced to strip naked for a physical and his application was marked as "handicapped", as he was classified a "midget", but was given his license.

Meanwhile, in Skudge, Winda and Paul boarded a bus for Cleveland, although Paul thought that he was the "Paraclete of Kabourka." When Howard and Beverly returned to the garage, they saw a specialized taxi that Lee had Claude fix up for Howard. Beverly wanted Howard's first trip to be to her first modelling assignment.

At that moment, in the offices of Bets-R-Off in Downtown Cleveland, Jackpot, the One-Armed Bandit spewed coins from his mouth at Archie Sloan, cutting his breath as punishment for failing to fix a race in his favor.

A few hours later, on Lakeshore Boulevard, police barricades placed for a marathon had been moved, resulting in runners running on top of Howard's taxi. Beverly noticed Cleft Chin as one of the marathoners, shortly before he collapsed on the hood of the taxi. She realized that he had been drugged and put him inside of the taxi. Jackpot watched them as Howard drove off and was determined to stop Cleft from winning. He stood in their way and dropped a pile of coins, causing them to crash. Howard dismounted and threatened to use Quak-Fu, but was shot with a pile of coins. Beverly intervened and was threatened by Jackpot, so Howard got back up and pumped Jackpot's arm three times, forcing him to spew out all the coins from his stomach.

As the rest of the runners appeared behind the taxi, Beverly supported Howard to the finish line and after the race, she gave Howard a reward (in the form of a kiss) for helping Cleft win.

At the offices of Cosmos Productions, Pro-Rata suggested that producer Dino Digitalis modify the costume of the lead of Spaceships To Doom and that he would find the new lead.

Appearing in "Chapter Three: From Hell It Cometh...Chair-Thing!"

Featured Characters:

Howard the Duck

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Mona
Arthur Winslow
Dakimh (Vision or hallucination)
Kidney Watchdogs of America (Mentioned)
Florence Nightingale (Mentioned)

Locations:

Earth-616
- United States of America
  - Ohio
    - Cleveland
      - Higbee's
      - Lakeshore Boulevard (Only in flashback)
  - Skudge (Mentioned)
  - Texas (Only in flashback)
    - Lubbock (Only in flashback)

Items:

The Human Kidney - Seat Of The Soul

Vehicles:

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Synopsis for "Chapter Three: From Hell It Cometh...Chair-Thing!"

Hours after dropping Bev off at her job, Howard was bored, waiting for his fare to finish shopping at Higbee's, as he was observed by Pro-Rata, the Financial Wizard, who casted a hex bolt to cause a flying cash register to hit his taxi, causing him to crash into the taxi in front of him, as a way of causing Howard to doubt his sanity. The taxi driver in front of him hit him out of anger, followed by the Kidney Lady and three others ganging up on him. Howard unsuccessfully called the garage for help, but resorted to fighting his attackers. As bystanders watched, Arthur Winslow, who was among them, remembered his past.

Officer Tompkins intervened and arrested Howard before his fare, who happened to be Dino Digitalis, returned and testified against the other cabbie and Kidney Lady, allowing him to go free. The cabbie attempted to flee, but Howard demanded the return of his bumper and the latter also returned his wheel. However, Tompkins still arrested the cabbie and Kidney Lady. Digitalis was about to make Howard an offer while Winda and Paul arrived in Cleveland.

Later that same night, Digitalis visited the garage and offered to make Howard a movie star. Howard turned down the offer, but Digitalis told Beverly that he wanted to make her his co-star. When Lee offered to find a temporary replacement for Howard, the latter agreed to become a movie star.

While walking to their rented home, past Pro-Rata, Howard revealed that it was Digitalis' accountant's idea to cast a "short actor." Beverly revealed that she rented it from a landlady, who they later learned was Kidney Lady, who, along with the cabbie, kidnapped them. Kidney Lady placed Howard on Chair-Thing and forced him to read a book that revealed that she was a witch and an arch foe of Dakimh the Sorcerer. She revealed that she created Chair-Thing to stop both of them from "depriving her of her kidneys." When Kidney Lady and the cabbie attacked Bev, Howard, who was smoking a cigar, dropped it on Chair-Thing and attacked his female captor. Bev attacked the cabbie and pushed him out of the window, causing him to fall next to Winda and Paul. Kidney Lady pushed Howard off her back, allowing her to put out the fire burning Chair-Thing, although returning it to its former self before she disappeared.

Winda and Paul arrived at their room and helped Howard and Bev get the place back in shape. They allowed their guests to spend the night in their house before going to bed together, as Pro-Rata watched from a crystal ball.

Links and References

References

Howard the Duck Vol 2 1

Appearing in "Chapter One: Fowl of Fear!"

Synopsis for "Chapter One: Fowl of Fear!"