Manhunter (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1989.
Synopsis for "Finders Keepers"
In the Australian outback, near Ayers Rock, Jeremy Heep discovers a crashed alien ship from the recent Invasion!. He immediately flies to Alice Springs and sends a telegram to his employers at Southern Cross Salvage Corporation (SCSC) that he quits. In the New York warehouse of SCSC owners/partners David Challoner and Gary De Vries meet with Mark Shaw. They explain that they hired Jeremy Heep (and others) to retreive alien debris from the recent invasion in order to reverse engineer the technology for their home country, Australia. Jeremy, however, quit and claimed the alien battleship for himself. Jeremy plans to hold an online auction and sell the warship to the highest bidder. Because SCSC feels they have rightful ownership of the find, they wish to hire Mark to 1) rig the online bidding in SCSC's favor and 2) retreive the ship so they don't have to pay. Mark agrees but instead of a monetary fee, he wishes to be paid in technological upgrades.
Mark tracks down Ashley Mavis Powell, a child molester he previously caught but who escaped from Belle Reve during the invasion. Mark deduced she'd stay local and try to find a job around children so he looked for recently filled positions to narrow the list. Because she has the ability to interact with technology (her trade name is "Interface"), Mark offers her a deal: help rig the upcoming online auction and he'll turn the other way while she makes an escape to another town. Having no choice, Ashley agrees and a few days later is able to rig the auction accordingly with SCSC offering the winning sum of $1.8 billion. The exchange is due to occur in four days in Alice Springs. True to his "literal" word, Manhunter does nothing as Ashley leaves. However, standing outside the door are FBI Agent Kirkland and some local police whom Manhunter had notified earlier. They take Mavis into custody.
Four days later, Mark arrives in Alice Springs and meets with his SCSC employers. Unbeknownst to Mark, the KGB, LexCorp and Checkmate have all sent agents to follow SCSC to the exchange point (which is unknown to all of them). In Mark's room, Mark finds Kazuo Hasagawa of the Yakuza who was also sent to get the alien ship. Mark does not reveal he is involved and, after Kazuo leaves, wonders who else might be involved.
Jeremy and Gary meet and drive to get the alien device followed by the many other interested parties. Manhunter prepares to follow with SCSC help...they have manufactured a Manhunter-styled Battlesuit in which he flies to where Gary is. Jeremy brings Gary to a seemingly deserted area and activates the warship which emerges from beneath the ground.
Appearing in "Finders Keepers"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Southern Cross Salvage Corporation (First appearance)
- David Challoner (First appearance)
- Gary DeVries (First appearance)
- Checkmate Knight Garrett (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Jeremy Heep (First appearance)
- Yakuza: Dai-Ichi Doku Clan Members
- KGB Agent Zastrow
- LexCorp
- Margo Wister
- Maxon
- Ashley Mavis Powell/Jennifer Stimson/Interface
Other Characters:
- Unnamed Australian Shopkeeper
- Johnny Weathers
- Mrs. Weathers
- FBI Special Agent Kirkland
Locations:
- Australia
- New York City, New York
- Southern Cross Salvage Corp Warehouse
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- St. Vincent's
- Ashley Powell's Residence
Items:
- X-Agon Alien Battleship
- LexCorp War Suit
- Manhunter Mask
- Manhunter's Power Baton
- Manhunter's Armor (First appearance)
Vehicles:
Notes
- There is an incorrect citation in this issue. Ashley Mavis Powell's escape is cited in Suicide Squad #26. It actually occurred in Issue #23.
See Also