Hit-Monkey is a fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

al comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. He first appeared in Hit-Monkey #1, released in February 2010 (with a cover date of April 2010), created by Daniel Way

Daniel Way

-Career:Way received the Xeric Foundation's Xeric Grant in 2000 for his first publication, Violent Lifestyle #1. Through Violent Lifestyle, Way was introduced to Marvel Comics editor Axel Alonso, who hired Way for a Deathlok mini-series that was cancelled prior to publication.Way's first published...

 and Dalibor Talajić.

Publication history

Hit-Monkey made his debut in a 2010

2010 in comics

-Events:*February 18: Jim Lee and Dan DiDio were announced as the new Co-Publishers of DC Comics, both replacing Paul Levitz.-January:*January 3: Tibet dies at age 78...

 eponym

Eponym

An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...

ous, digital comic on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is an online service by Marvel Comics which distributes past issues of their comics via the Internet. Launching on November 13, 2007, the service has thousands of issues in its archive.-History:...

. The one-shot was released in print format a week later and, starting in the same month, he was featured in a 3-issue story arc

Story arc

A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...

 in Deadpool #19-21. Cover artist Dave Johnson also accidentally confirmed that Hit-Monkey will be featured in his own three issue mini-series

Limited series

A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

, a fact later confirmed by Daniel Way at the 2010 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo

Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo

The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo is a Chicago fan convention dedicated to comics, pop culture, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television...

.

Origin

An unnamed assassin was marked for death after his part in a failed political coup. After blowing up a squad of enemy soldiers, he decides to run for his life. Passed out in the snow after four days of fleeing, he was rescued by a troop of Japanese Macaques. The monkeys allowed the assassin into their clan, with the exception of a lone monkey. The man knew that he would be hunted so he trained daily. Quietly, the monkey that distrusted him watched, and eventually picked up on the fighter's skills. The assassin's health began to fail, and as the tribe of monkeys tried to save him, the lone monkey objected, eventually fighting the rest of the group with his new found skills. Because of the violence he displayed, the monkey was banished from his clan. However, on his own, he saw a group of men on their way to kill the assassin. He tried to run back and warn his tribe, but it was too late - the assassin had been killed as well as the rest of the monkeys. Furious at his clan's slaughter, the monkey picked up extra guns from a bag and proceeded to kill the entire group of men. Determined to avenge his fallen tribe, the monkey now dedicated his life to killing assassins - under the alias of Hit-Monkey.

Versus Deadpool

In Deadpool #19, Spider-Man finds a local shop owner brutally murdered. Having seen Deadpool in New York earlier, Spider-Man suspects he is the killer, and fights and catches him. However, Deadpool claims he has an alibi. After examining the crime scene, Deadpool says that only one assassin could have pulled off a job so flawlessly: Hit-Monkey. Deadpool and Spider-Man team up to catch Hit-Monkey, who is known for killing other assassins. Because of this, they realize that Deadpool is likely on Hit-Monkey's hit-list. Spider-Man reluctantly teams up with Deadpool, and after some dirty cops are killed by Hit-Monkey, Spider-Man is followed by Hit-Monkey in order to kill Deadpool. Hit-Monkey accidentally shoots Spider-Man in the fight and seemingly feels bad about it, showing that he is not just a ruthless killer, but a killer of known assassins. Trying to capitalize on this moment, Deadpool attempts to kill Hit-Monkey, but fails and is shot several times. Hit-Monkey leaves him for dead, apparently not knowing about Deadpool's healing factor. Deadpool then pretends to be Spider-Man and fakes his death. At "Spider-Man's" funeral, Hit-Monkey comes to pay his respect, thinking he killed him. However, Deadpool jumps out of the casket in order to kill Hit-Monkey. Spider-Man renders both fighters' guns unusable so they can't kill each other without blowing themselves up as well. Deadpool doesn't care and pulls the trigger, seemingly killing Hit-Monkey but surviving due to his healing factor.

Collected editions

The character's appearances have been collected into a trade paperback

Trade paperback (comics)

In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...

:

• Deadpool, Volume 4: Monkey Business (collects Hit-Monkey #1 and Deadpool (vol. 4) #19-22, 120 pages, Marvel Comics, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 0-7851-4530-3)
• Hit-Monkey: Year of the Monkey (collects Hit-Monkey #1-3, Hit-Monkey one-shot, 96 pages, Marvel Comics, softcover, January 4 2010, ISBN 0-7851-4859-0)

Reviews

• Review: Hit-Monkey #1, Comic Book Resources
  Comic Book Resources
  Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
  
  
• Hit-Monkey #1 Review, IGN
  IGN
  IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
  
  
• Hit-Monkey #1 Review, Comics Bulletin
  Comics Bulletin
  Comics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...
  
  
• Best Shots Reviews: BATMAN & ROBIN #8, HIT MONKEY #1, more, Newsarama
  Newsarama
  Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...