Standing exactly two miles above the beautiful City of New York, John Hancock smiled with complete and utter displeasure as he scanned the landscape, for the damages wrought upon the United States of America's topmost city by the so-called Avengers as they battled Loki, the Norse God of Mischief, formerly of Asgard, and the Alien Warriors allied with him.
John Hancock flew closer to the floating remnant of the S.H.I.E.L.D. ship which hovered above the City of New York. After Nick Fury went into hiding, the ship had fallen into the custody of Stark Enterprises, whose owner and CEO Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, eagerly added it to his collection of otherworldly high-tech toys. The S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel would serve as the temporary HQ for the Avengers while the Stark Enterprises building downtown got repaired and upgraded.
Clad in a shiny black and gold leather outfit, the tall, good-looking, thirty-something African-American stud muffin looked every bit the hero. After many unproductive years spent as a drunken hobo who caused much damage to Los Angeles while fighting crime, John Hancock got clean and sober thanks to his good friend Ray Embry, made peace with his former paramour and fellow superhuman Mary Embry, and set out to become the hero he always knew he could be.
Over the years, the new John Hancock became a valued hero in the eyes of the residents of Los Angeles. These days, he worked WITH the Los Angeles Police Department, assisting law enforcement and carefully utilizing his superhuman abilities to fight crime and save lives. The Mayor of Los Angeles was so thankful that she decided to grant John Hancock, once a pariah, now a golden boy, the keys to the city.
Yeah, these days John Hancock had much to be thankful for. Unfortunately, he always some pesky problems to handle. A superhero's work is never truly done. And thanks to some amateurs, John Hancock had some work to do. The Avengers, comprised of Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, the Black Widow and the Hulk, somehow managed to repel the Alien Warriors back to their home dimension and captured Loki. Still, during the battle, thousands of New Yorkers lost their lives.
Hancock had seen much damage and destruction in the thousands upon thousands of years that he'd been alive, but these Avengers were clearly on a league of their own. Heroes or not, they endangered human lives with their antics, none more so than the Hulk, so John Hancock decided that they would have to be dealt with.
"Get out of New York and leave the crime fighting to the professionals," John Hancock said calmly, looking Tony Stark in the eye. Clad in his crimson and golden armor, the billionaire playboy philanthropist turned superhero smiled and shook his head.
Whether in the boardroom or the street, Tony Stark A.K.A. Iron Man had never been the sort of man to take orders from anyone. He refused to let the President of the United States and various business/political men stop him from operating as Iron Man and fighting crime on his terms. With his buddies he'd just saved the day. And Stark was damned if he was going to take orders from the likes of John Hancock.
"You're a long way from Los Angeles, Hancock, I suggest you leave while you can, and have a beer on me," Tony Stark/Iron Man said smugly, watching John Hancock's face for signs of animosity. The tall, and damn it, sexy black superhero glared at Iron Man. His jaw set, Hancock definitely did not look pleased.
"Go back where you come from, asshole, or Hulk will smash you," said a tall, muscular green goliath. Iron Man shot an appreciative smirk at Bruce Banner/The Hulk, who squared his impossibly broad shoulders and glared at John Hancock with the contempt of a God beholding an insect.
"Wrong move," Hancock said, and then flew at them. Iron Man activated his sophisticated battle-suit's combat systems, and readied his thrusters. The golden Avenger had battled super-humans endowed with super strength and flight before, his new teammate Thor among them, and he knew what to expect from the likes of John Hancock.
"Hulk will smash you," Hulk bellowed, and leapt from the S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel, hurling himself at John Hancock. The tall African-American superhero flew at the Green Goliath and the two super-beings collided in the air, unleashing a shockwave that threatened to send Iron Man tumbling to the ground, at least until the golden Avenger activated his emergency thrusters.
As Iron Man watched, John Hancock and the Hulk grappled in the air. In spite of himself, the golden Avenger marveled at the sight. He hadn't been this excited to watch a fight since Thor, the warrior Prince of Asgard and Norse God of Thunder battled an enraged and paranoid Hulk on the S.H.I.E.L.D vessel a couple years ago.
"Call me an asshole one more time," John Hancock said angrily as he slammed his fist into the Hulk's mammoth jaw, striking the green giant with enough force to knock him backwards. The Hulk, arguably one of the physically strongest beings in the universe, glared at John Hancock, stunned by the smaller warrior's strength and ferocity.
"Hulk will break you in half," Hulk roared, and grabbed John Hancock in a bear hug. Hancock leapt into the air, rising effortlessly toward the stratosphere even as the Hulk tried to squeeze the life out of him. John Hancock, as he was known in this time period, was no ordinary superhuman hero in tights. What the Hulk and his ilk didn't realize was that John Hancock was an Immortal. Once worshipped as a deity by primitive peoples in North Africa, parts of the Mediterranean and even Assyria and Babylon.
"Can't breathe, can you asshole?" Hancock taunted as he felt the Hulk's grip on him begin to weaken. The flying man continued his ruthless, effortless ascent into the sky, reaching the upper reaches of the heavens, in places where the thin oxygen began to affect his incredibly strong but still mortal green-hued foe. The Hulk finally let go, and fell to the earth, unconscious.