BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
Ricochet and Hornet kept partnering as super-heroes for a time. However, their reasons for heroics were clearly different. Eddie genuinely wanted to help people and do go in the world, while Johnny enjoyed the attention. He liked saving beautiful women from criminals and hooking up with them afterwards, or getting his name in the headlines. When the media moved on to other darlings, though, Johnny lost interest in being a hero. Eddie kept calling to go out on patrol, but Johnny said yes less and less. One night, Hornet had a tip that a serious terrorist attack was going down and he needed back-up. Johnny laughed it off and told Eddie “good luck” on his own. With Wolverine as their brainwashed agent, Hydra attacked Stark International and Hornet was killed in the line of duty. Johnny only found out afterwards that his best friend had gone to his death while he stayed at home playing video games. [Loners #2, Wolverine (3rd series) #23]
The guilt affected Johnny so much that he left New York and moved out west to Los Angeles. He was surprised to find people who understood his problems in Excelsior, a support group for former teen super-heroes. The group was founded by Mickey Musashi and Phil Urich (formerly Turbo of the New Warriors and the “good” Green Goblin) and also included Chris “Darkhawk” Powell and Julie Power of Power Pack. Johnny opened up about being addicted to the spotlight, as well as 
the depressing lows that followed when the media moved on. Although their stated goal was to establish new lives after super-heroism, Excelsior got back into costume at the request of their new backer, former teen sidekick Rick Jones. The group got involved with the Pride’s children known as the Runaways, super-powered truants on the run after stopping their super-villain parents. [Runaways (2nd series) #1-6]
The “Loners” of Excelsior faced new influences on their mission when the Superhuman Registration Act mandated registration and compliance for all supers, even aspiring retired heroes. Johnny still felt the pull of getting back into action with his powers, especially while trying to impress Julie Power and their new member, Mattie “Spider-Woman” Franklin. (He never quite realized Julie was gay and Mattie was using him for her private investigation into the disappearance of Cassie St. Commons, hired by her parents.) The group struggled to stay together through all the secrets and diverging priorities among the members. They found new members with Hollow and Namie, but Phil succumbed to the Goblin madness and Mattie abruptly abandoned Excelsior after a one-night’s-stand with Johnny. [Loners #1-6]
The group tried to pull together again after their losses, but Darkhawk ended up leaving as well to get a job as the super-powered security chief for Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Mickey brought the group back to New York where most of them originated, but the vibes were still off. [Marvel Holiday Special 2007, War of Kings: Darkhawk #1-2]
Instead, the Loners chose a different avenue and enrolled at Avengers Academy back in Palos Verde, California. Rather than abandoning the superhuman aspect of their lives entirely, Turbo, Ricochet, Hollow and Lightspeed chose to get training from classic Avengers, such as Giant-Man, Hawkeye and Tigra, alongside a new generation of heroes. Their motivations were never fully explored, but the group probably saw an opportunity to preemptively counsel younger teen super-heroes about the burnout and mistakes of their past, rather than waiting for them to realize they needed help. [Avengers Academy #21-23]
A divide did develop at the Avengers Academy, though, between those who thought “super-heroism” was or was not the most appropriate application of their abilities. An alchemist and teen millionaire, Jeremy Briggs offered the Academy students well-compensated, non-combat roles in 
his company using their powers and skills to help the world better than just “fighting crime.” Prodigy was on Briggs’ side to redeem himself after his poor handling of the Initiative deployment during the Serpent War. Ritchie’s presence on the other side insured Johnny would remain with the Academy. Ricochet called out Prodigy for missing Hornet’s funeral and always doing what was in HIS best interests only. Johnny intended to stay at the Academy and support his team, rather than pursuing a purely selfish agenda. [Avengers Academy #26]
However, Johnny’s support of Avengers Academy waned when they went to war with the X-Men over the Phoenix Force. While the main Avengers and X-Men scattered across the globe hunting Hope Summers, the young mutants of Utopia were brought to the Academy. Tigra and the instructors were left to enforce a house arrest status on the X-Men’s students, so they didn’t 
interfere with the Avengers’ mission. Wiz Kid brought together Ricochet and the other mutant students of Avengers Academy to discuss whose side they should really be on here. Johnny and many other Academy students ultimately decided the young mutants should be allowed to make their own decisions in what was to come. Ricochet would not be seen around Avengers Academy after that, suggesting this incident had a permanent effect on his outlook. [Avengers Academy #30-31]
Ricochet resurfaced in Las Vegas after Hydra’s takeover of America, responding to reports of a new Hornet. This Hornet tried to steal a shipment of food that Cassandra Mercury intended to distribute in the aftermath of the disaster, so Ricochet teamed up with Mercury’s associate the Scarlet Spider to track him down. Dusk also got involved in the mission, but Ricochet started to doubt his choices when the Spider mercilessly beat the Hornet’s boss, Silas Thorne, sending him to the hospital. When Prodigy returned and claimed both he and this Hornet were working with the returning Black Marvel, Ricochet and Dusk agreed to help stop the Scarlet Spider.
The reunited Slingers kidnapped Cassandra Mercury as leverage and commanded the Scarlet Spider to turn himself in to the police for battering Thorne. The Scarlet Spider tracked them down instead, with the help of his brother Kaine. Ricochet was already having trouble following everything when the supposedly redeemed soul of the Black Marvel returned to guide the Slingers 
in their fight with the Scarlet Spiders. However, Dusk’s unique perceptions discovered the truth that the “Black Marvel” was actually a demon and Hornet was a resurrected mutant villain named Cyber. Ricochet and Prodigy quickly switched gears after Dusk’s warning and joined up with the Spiders against the Marvel. The demon was expunged, and the Slingers accepted Scarlet Spider’s apology for overreacting against Silas Thorne and his promise to walk the straight and narrow from now on. [Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #8-13]
Sometime later, Johnny applied for the Hero Division of the Beyond Corporation, who sought out and contracted super-heroes to protect company assets and provide PR good will for Beyond. However, on his first gig, Ricochet got caught up in a dimensional rift caused by the quantum anchor at Beyond’s Kroatan Farm facility. Cassie’s psychic premonitions alerted her to his danger, 
and she sought out the current Hornet who, as Hobie “the Prowler” Brown, had originally engineered the jet pack Eddie received from the Black Marvel. Together, Hornet and Dusk helped Ricochet shut down the rift and save the research team. Their display of heroism led Maxine Power to recruit a full team of Slingers for the Hero Division. Hornet was already suspicious of Beyond for buying out his previous start-up Fairgray at triple its value, and he joined in order to keep an eye on their activities. [Amazing Spider-Man (5th series) #88.BEY]
Before that investigation could get under way, however, Beyond’s primary super-hero Spider-Man lost control. After buying out the Spider-Man IP from the failing Parker Industries, the Beyond Corporation put Ben Reilly back in the Spider-Man costume as the legally-recognized Spider-Man. Damage done to his memories sent Reilly on a rampage, though, and the Slingers were called up to stop him. [Amazing Spider-Man (5th series) #92.BEY] They failed, and Beyond’s Hero Division fell apart as Peter Parker was forced to stop Ben himself. It’s uncertain what happened to Ricochet and the Slingers after that. [Amazing Spider-Man (5th series) #93]