—James RhodesIt was the same guy who tried to wax me during that mess at the United Nations two days ago. It came down to him or me. I picked me. Breaking his neck was easy compared to the nightmares I've been having since. I crossed a line in Imaya, and I can't seem to get back to the other side. I'm afraid killing's going to keep getting easier - until I don't know how to stop.
Appearing in "Instant Karma's Gonna Get You!"
Featured Characters:
- ⏴ War Machine (James "Jim" Rhodes) ⏵ (Main story and recap)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- ⏴ Deathtoll (Saint van Sant) (Main story and flashback) (Origin revealed) (Apparent death)
- Global Processing (First appearance)
- ⏴ Leviticus (First full appearance) (Name or alias revealed)
Other Characters:
- Los Angeles Police Department
- Los Angeles Airport Police (At least five officers seen)
- Clark (First appearance; dies)
- Rosen (First appearance; dies)
- Los Angeles Airport Police (At least five officers seen)
- S.H.I.E.L.D. (Mentioned)
- Rog (Saint van Sant's pilot)
- Saint van Sant's father (Unnamed) (Only in a dream/flashback) (Death)
- "Thuggees" (Only in flashback)
- Kali (Only in flashback)
- Antonio Villeboas (First appearance)
- United Nations (Mentioned)
- Hawkeye (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Realities:
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- North America
- Africa
- Imaya (Mentioned)
- South America
- Corteña (First full appearance)
- Asia (Only in flashback)
Items:
- Deathtoll's Lifecount wrist monitor
- Adamantium bullets
- War Machine Armor (Main story and recap)
Vehicles:
- various jet planes
Synopsis for "Instant Karma's Gonna Get You!"
At the airport, as Jim Rhodes is boarding a jet, Deathtoll tries to shoot him from behind some cover but Sheva Joseph spots the glint of the rifle at the last second and pushes Rhodes to safety. When the airport police arrive, Deathtoll provokes them into shooting him and is killed. After getting a look at the body, a visibly-shaken Rhodes claims not to know him. Once most of the people have dispersed, leaving Clark and Rosen to guard the body, Deathtoll self-resurrects and kills them both, then thanks them for the refill.
Three hours later, while flying to South America, Rhodes and Joseph receive word that the police believe the assassin had an accomplice who killed the guards and stole the body, so Joseph asks if there's something that she should know. Rhodes reveals that this was the second time that that hitman had tried to kill him, the first time having been when he attacked War Machine at the United Nations and Rhodes had been forced to snap his neck to save himself. Rhodes confesses that, after Imaya, he fears that killing is going to keep getting easier for him.
At the Worldwatch offices, Rebecca Bergier tells Doctor Jeffries that Jim is going ahead with the South American mission. When she responds to his question about whether the media knows about the airport shooting, he observes that she's reacting as if she had been personally assaulted. Bergier states that it's a personal matter and assures him that she won't let it affect Worldwatch.
While being flown to South America, Deathtoll follows pilot Rog's advice and takes a nap. Despite hoping otherwise, he again has a recurring dream about how his father raised him, how he had eventually killed his father and become a hired killer, and how a job in India to kill a sect of Thuggees had led to an encounter with the goddess Kali who had granted him an extra life for every life he fed to her through his own hand. Van Sant has used that boon to become the highest-paid hitman in the world because his ability ensured that he could always get the job done.
In Corteña, Rhodes, Joseph and Craig meet with State Secretary Antonio Villeboas who tries to convince them that there was nothing to the rumors of a "mass gravesite" but Rhodes reminds him that the previous government had "disappeared" thousands of people they considered to be enemies. Villeboas insists that the only reason why anybody who attempts to visit the site is escorted away at gunpoint is because it is actually an old toxic waste dump, but promises to try to arrange an inspection for them. Although the Worldwatch team seemingly accepts his offer, they actually recognize it as a stall tactic and Rhodes decides to change into his other suit and investigate on his own. Meanwhile, Villeboas phones Leviticus to report that he doesn't know how much longer he can delay them, but Leviticus reminds him of how much Corteña's tourism industry could be adversely affected by any disclosure of buried secrets and states that they have already taken steps to deal with Rhodes.
After flying to the alleged grave site, War Machine uses his armor's ultrasound imaging to discover that there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of bodies buried there. He's then attacked by Deathtoll, who had come looking for Rhodes. During their battle, War Machine accidentally kills Deathtoll with a punch that snaps his neck, but the assassin immediately self-resurrects and shoots War Machine with an Adamantium-jacketed bullet that is able to penetrate the armor and wound Rhodes in his side. As Deathtoll presses the muzzle of his weapon to War Machine's faceplate and prepares to fire a fatal shot, Rhodes realizes that the only action he can take to save himself is to fire one of his armor's repulsors at the ground between them, ground that Rhodes suspects is unstable due to all the bodies buried there. The repulsor beam not only causes Deathtoll to lose his balance, thus preventing him from shooting War Machine, it also blasts open a pit beneath the assassin who is unable to keep himself from falling into it. As the walls of the pit collapse onto him, Deathtoll is killed by the crushing weight and lack of oxygen, only to self-resurrect and be killed again and again. Deathtoll quickly goes through all of his extra lives, something that Rhodes presumes will put him down for good. With the proof of the gravesite on his armor's recording chip, War Machine leaves to get medical attention.
Twenty-four hours later, eight members of Global Processing meet in a board room in response to the fact that footage of the mass graves that had been released to all major news agencies by Worldwatch International has prompted the government of Corteña to call for a United Nations investigation of the situation. Leviticus states that their organization's one truly invaluable resource is their anonymity and that Wordwatch and War Machine have proven themselves to be threats. He then tells the others that he wants final solutions to these problems.
While flying home, Rhodes is concerned because he has killed several times in recent days, so Joseph recommends that he get a second opinion from another superhero. Rhodes decides to talk to Hawkeye.
Notes
- After Deathtoll was shot and killed at the airport, the Lifecount displayed on his wrist monitor dropped from 11 to 10 as he self-resurrected, then rose to 12 after he killed both Clark and Rosen. However, when he later confronted War Machine in Corteña, the monitor display showed that he had at least 21 extra lives, indicating that he had killed at least nine people BTS during this issue.
- As in the previous issue, Deathtoll is referenced by that name only on the cover and in the Omniscient Narrative. The pilot Rog called him "Van Sant" while Kali addressed him by his real name, Saint van Sant.
- Although Leviticus and Global Processing were seemingly being set up to become recurring opponents of War Machine and Worldwatch International, neither of them have been seen or even mentioned since this issue.
Trivia
- The title to this issue is taken from the 1970 song "Instant Karma!" by John Lennon