Manhunter #20 is an issue of the series Manhunter (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 1989.
Synopsis for "Face of Steel"
Mark visits his mother in the hospital where she is being treated for exhaustion. They discuss Mark's mission as Manhunter with Rose thinking it's some means of proving himself to his deceased, biological father. Mark heads back to his apartment to gather the rest of his belongings only to find his apartment has been bombed. He has nothing left but what he was carrying in his duffle bag (including he last remaining mask and power baton as well as his passport). Lt. Best interrogates Mark about the bombing but Mark refuses to give him information for fear of getting him involved and the danger that would go along with it. Mark flies to Japan and remembers the last encounter:
He recalls Kazou's dressing as Manhunter to take on Dumas and his own infiltration of the building, taking down guards, slashing tires, setting bombs and getting his family to safety. Nine henchmen attempt to stop them but Mark and Ryu defeat them. After getting free of the compound, Mark sets off the bombs destroying the compound.
Mark arrives back in Japan and performs a Manhunter Cult ritual to reach the Nexus Point - a justice-oriented state of mind. Mark bombs Dumas' apartment watching from the roof of a nearby building. Dumas arrives and the two fight. Dumas is able to damage Manhunter's mask and sets the power baton to overload and explode in 15 seconds. Dumas leaves and Manhunter crawls towards the baton. The rooftop explodes.
Appearing in "Face of Steel"
Featured Characters:
- Manhunter (Mark Shaw) (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
- Lieutenant Lucius Best
- Yakuza: Dai-Ichi Doku Clan Members
- Kazuo Hasegawa (Flashback only)
- Eleanor Shaw (Flashback only)
- Eliot Shaw (Flashback only)
- James Shaw (Flashback only)
- Rose Shaw (Flashback and main story)
Antagonists:
- Dumas (Flashback and main story)
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Tokyo, Japan
- Yakuza Compound (Flashback only)
- Dumas' Apartment (Destroyed)
- New York City, New York
- Unnamed Hospital, Room 306
- Mark Shaw's Apartment (Destroyed)
Items:
- Manhunter Mask (Destroyed)
- Manhunter Power Baton (Destroyed)
Vehicles:
- Mark Shaw's Motorcycle
Notes
- Saints and Sinners Part 3 of 6
- Due to a retcon presented in Issue 13 of the third Manhunter series, Mark Shaw was purportedly brainwashed into having a second, hidden personality known as Dumas. It is unclear if there was ever a real Dumas, if Shaw always unknowingly acted as Dumas, and/or if "encounters" with Dumas were all imagined or hallucinated. Thus certain aspects of this story may not be considered canon.
See Also