Hero Profile: Mockingbird

One of the reasons I like superheroes is that there are so many paths to the whole vigilante crime fighter thing. Sure, there are a few formulas. Potential heroes could have a loved one die tragically (Batman, Green Arrow, Storm), or be in a lab accident during a dangerous experiment (Hulk, Firestorm, the Flash 2 and 3), meeting a God (Beta Ray Bill, reboot Flash 1, New Thor), or have some sort of legacy they are trying to live up to (Black Panther, Black Knight, every Robin), those sorts of things. They are archetypes, so even though we’ve seen the setups a thousand times they haven’t gotten old. That being said, it is kind of nice to see those that meander a little before they set up their own superhero identity, those like Dr. Bobbi Morse.

So it's either being slashed or a concussion?
Tough call..

Biologist Dr. Barbara “Bobbi” Morse began her superhero career as the more or less sidekick of Marvel’s resident noble savage Ka-Zar. Don’t recognize the name? Think Tarzan but with a pet sabretooth tiger. So, yeah, Ka-Zar is a little more badass. She initially worked as a covert agent working for S.H.I.E.L.D. working to keep the evil science group A.I.M from getting their hands on the monstrous but benevolent Man-Thing and his incomplete replicated Super Soldier Serum. Despite claiming she wanted to just be a normal biologist again, she apparently instead went through some intensive S.H.I.E.L.D. training to be a field agent. She continued to work with Ka-Zar for several years. The two have an on again off again romance, but Bobbi is far from just the sidekick/love interest stereotype. She works hard to keep up with the noble savage, saving him as often as he saves her. This arrangement lasts until she was basically phased out by jungle lady Shanna the She-Devil. While this was the end of Dr. Bobbie Morse, Ka-Zar’s sidekick, it was the real beginning of Mockingbird.

Rather than moping about being replaced, Bobbi instead starts a new job investigating S.H.I.E.L.D. ferreting out corrupt officials in the international spy organization. Huh, finding the bad eggs in a group of spies, talk about a hostile work environment. First going by the codename Huntress, then almost immediately changing it to Mockingbird, (DC had first dibs on the name by an issue or two) Bobbi worked her tail feathers of finding corrupt officials. Oh my, even I groaned at that pun. Her first major confrontation was alongside Spider-man, she and the Web-Head took on a S.H.I.E.L.D. Branch Director named Carl Delanden. In the fight she was shot by agents who were following orders to subdue her at any cost. After Delanden was taken care of, Nick Fury exonerated Mockingbird and personally looked after her until she recovered.

Dr. Morse, talk with Talia al Ghul
about my thoughts about the amount
of cleavage you're showing.

Since then she’s worked alongside many of Marvel’s favorite heroes, like Captain America, Ant-man and Wasp, the Vision, and, particularly, Hawkeye. The two avian themed heroes initially got along like oil and water, but after working together to stop a villain by the name of Crossfire the two eloped. Keep in mind that this was in a miniseries, so less than ten issues. Damn, that was a fast turnaround. The two help found the West Coast branch of the Avengers. She was one a dozens of heroes that were replaced by Skrull infiltrators. The shapeshifting reptile kept everyone in the dark about Bobbi’s abduction for over a decade. Once she finally returned, she and Hawkeye divorced. Relationships between superheroes don’t ever seem to last that long. Like most of the greats, she’s retired, died, and been brought back again. Can’t keep a good bird down.

Mockingbird, for most of her career, had no superhuman powers. Instead, she was a gifted and intensely trained covert agent. She’s been trained by Captain America, Hawkeye, as well as Nick Fury himself. She’s a capable hand-to-hand fighter, and has had experience with most forms of firearms. Her preferred weapon is a pair of metal batons. These batons can be combined to form a single bo-staff that she’s very skilled with. Mockingbird is also rather intelligent, I mentioned her Ph.D. right? While she seems to rarely go by “Dr.” her skills and expertise in Biology should be apparent in one project she worked on years ago. She was part of Project: Gladiator, a research project that sought to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. While her original formula proved ineffective, she was later injected with a closer-to-original formula to help her recover from a serious injury. She how has super strength and agility, this coupled with her original S.H.I.E.L.D. training puts her on par with Captain America in terms of destructive force.

Heck of a pointy mask.

Bobbie is a somewhat underused character. Heck, up until the 2010’s she wasn’t used at all outside of the comics. She was sort of referenced in the 2007 film Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow. She herself doesn’t make an appearance, but her and Hawkeye’s son Francis “Hawkeye” Bartlet worked alongside the offspring of various other Avengers to stop Ultron. So yeah, not in much until really, really recently.

She appeared in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Initially portrayed as S.H.I.E.L.D. special agent Hawkeye’s chauffer, she takes his place after Hawkeye is wrongfully imprisoned. She joins Hawkeye, Captain America, and Black Panther when the three Avengers went out to track down the rogue Black Widow and HYDRA. During the confrontation, she and Hawkeye are separated, where she is apparently replaced by a Skrull. The real Bobbi Morse is held captive by the Skrull for the last half of season one and beginning of season two, before she, Captain America, and several other captives escape a Skrull Warship.

Live action Bobbi Morse. Might not be
a doctor this time around but she's one
smart cookie.

Bobbi Morse joined the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in their second season. I stopped watching the show partway through season one, so I personally haven’t seen her, but the synopsis suggests that they portray her as a skilled and intelligent S.H.I.E.L.D Agent. Good job writers.

My understanding of Mockingbird is another character that 100% comes from Avengers: EMH. Since that show did it’s best to match the comic book stories the show is based off of, I can assume that this version is an accurate adaptation of the character. She’s a flirtatious and headstrong character that does her best to see a mission through. One of the best examples of this was in the episode “Widow’s Sting.” After she and Hawkeye were captured by HYDRA, she almost instantly sets up a strong report with their captors. She almost convinces a HYDRA goon to loosen her shackles, which would have been helpful, but said good was stopped by his superior, the Grim Reaper. In the later episode “Prisoner of War” she’s shown to have taken her kidnapping much like Captain America, she’s been badly bruised but nowhere near broken. It’s more or less thanks to her, and the begrudging help of the villainous HYDRA agent Viper, that Captain America and the other captives escaped the Skrull. She’s a character that doesn’t take her very serious job too seriously. A combination of brains, brawn, and no small amount of skill, Mockingbird is much more like a bird of prey. She’s the marvelous Mockingbird. Next time, the Queen of the Inhuman’s Medusa. No, she doesn’t have snake for hair, but her hair is far from normal.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockingbird_%28Marvel_Comics%29

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Barbara_Morse_%28Earth-12131%29

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Barbara_Morse_%28Earth-8096%29

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Barbara_Morse_%28Earth-199999%29