KATMANDU -Interpol agent Christine St. Clair is asking around about a mysterious figure called Manhunter. She then meets an old man called Haj The Ancient and he spins her this tale:
A masked man appears in Katmandu in a place called,'The Alley Of Shadows', a place unknown by tourists and avoided by locals, even the police. It is the sanctuary of The Cult Of Thieves, a murderous band of criminals. He was there in search of someone and was attacked by minions of the cult. The masked man kills his attackers and as quickly as he appeared, he disappears...Convinced that this masked man is Manhunter, St. Clair inquires more about him and Haj the Ancient then spins the tale of another scenario involving the masked stranger:
The masked man came to a Shepra village in the Himilayan foothills several days after the fight in,'The Alley Of Shadows' and shouted to the sherpas in their huts," Someone from this village guided a certain man from Katmandu into the mountains...to the Pendrang Monastery! I seek that man!" Assassins attempted to silence the masked man but before they could rush forth, he was gone. After a search failed to turn up the stranger or his tracks, a rider was sent hurrying into the mountains to bring warning to the monastery. The rider did not make it to the monastery, instead he was returned to the Sherpa village, unconscious and tied to his horse;And that night, the stranger came to he Pendrang Monastery. The place is protected by 3 legendary blind Zen archers, to whom the faintest sound, the slightest movement, cannot escape them! The stranger set off some firecrackers to confuse the 3 blind archers and then took them down. In the meantime, in those dark hours, a man sat in the courtyard, meditating, awaiting the coming dawn. The man's name is Dharmata, a so-called political agitator. Believing the stranger to be his assassin, Dharmata insists to have him wait until the monks, walking in as they speak, finish their morning meditation. The monks approached Dharmata and drew weapons. In a storm of violence, the stranger swiftly defeats the assassins. As Dharmata examined the monk's bodies, he discovered that they weren't monks at all, and that they all had the face of the masked stranger. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, the stranger was gone...Christine St. Clair hoped for more information from the old man but alas, he didn't have any more answers for the Interpol agent. Eventually satisfied, St. Clair departs. As she walks off, Haj The Ancient removes his beard and cloak, revealng himself to be...MANHUNTER!
Story originally printed in DETECTIVE COMICS #437 Oct/Nov 1973
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