My Ex-Wife -- My Prey!

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

The fact that our mystery villain is obsessed with causing harm to Patsy Walker, who would later be more famously known as the Hellcat, should provide you with a strong clue as to his (its?) identity. The two have a long history together, much of it consigned to a past that Patsy considers well-buried. To get a clearer picture, we have to look more closely at Patsy's beginnings as a character in her own right, and a marriage that quickly went down a rocky road.

The "mysterious beast" and Hank McCoy, of course, would turn out to be one and the same, which would open the door to Patsy striking a bargain with him: She would keep his secret, if he would someday make her a super-heroine. And Patsy would get her wish, when the Beast later joins the Avengers and she comes to collect on their bargain.

But before she's able to do so, duty calls, and the Avengers attempt to infiltrate the Brand Corporation, as part of their investigation into a private army and a possible tie-in between Brand and Roxxon Oil--and Buzz Baxter spots a familiar face on a surveillance camera.

When the Avengers are taken captive and scheduled for execution, Patsy and Buzz finally have it out. By this time, Patsy has broken in her newly adopted Hellcat suit--so while Buzz scores some nasty verbal taunts, it's Patsy who prevails.

But where does our villainous "Fido" enter the picture? What's his story? Well, we learn that our boy is an operative of the Secret Empire and has been put in charge of the Mutant Force to lead a raid on Patsy's wedding (to Daimon Hellstrom) in order to capture the Defenders--and when he asserts his authority, it's clear that his name is a perfect fit for his state of mind when it comes to his ex-wife.

Yes, Mad-Dog, the former Buzz Baxter, has some payback to deliver to Patsy on the day of her nuptials--and when he makes his entrance with the Mutant Force, the pastor has practically given him his cue.

Fortunately, Moondragon, now part of the new Defenders lineup, knows Patsy from their time in the Avengers as well as from the brief time that Moondragon tutored her, and so Patsy has a *ahem* defender as Mad-Dog closes in on her. But Moondragon's mental powers have been curtailed by Odin, and she finds herself overwhelmed by Mad-Dog's rage--while Patsy has put two and two together, and realizes who she's dealing with here.

It's Patsy vs. Buzz once more, the bitterness between them boiling to the surface again and Buzz in particular crowing over the improved station of his life. (If you say so, pal.) Mad-Dog also has an ability to render his victims helpless, catching Patsy off-guard and setting her up for the kill.

Yet though battling the Mutant Force has kept the other Defenders occupied, Patsy still has two fighters in her corner--the injured Moondragon, and a husband-to-be who isn't about to falter on his wedding day.