Enemy Ace - Memorial Day - Ray Wonsowski

Layout:
1122
3344
5566
7788

Panel 1:  A Texas-style saloon.  We see the bar straight on, a couple of draft handles at the ready.  Two men approach empty bar stools.  The man approaching from the left wears the wide straw hat of a field hand, and his face is in the brim's shadow.  He has a lightweight boxer's build, and wears a denim shirt and jeans.  The man approaching from the right is 65 to 70 years old, face tan and leathery, his white hair cut to a military crew cut.  He is thin, and he wears a loose white blousy shirt and khakis.  This is HANS VON HAMMER.  Both men wear military style boots.  A BARTENDER cleans a beer glass with a rag.  The mirror behind the bar reflects the scene back, and we see the man on the left is scratching his face in the manner of the UNKNOWN SOLDIER.  The mirror has photos tacked around the frame, and a calendar on the wall has Betty Page in lingerie and the page reads August 1955.

CAPTION:  Fredericksburg, Texas.

BARTENDER:  Gen'l'men.


Panel 2:  Closer in.  The two men have sat on their stools, their backs to us, their faces reflected in the mirror.  The bartender puts the glass beneath one draft handle and begins to pour.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER:  Beer.

VON HAMMER:  Apple schnapps.


Panel 3:  Closer in.  The SOLDIER has his beer in front of him as the bartender puts the glass of schnapps in front of VON HAMMER.  The bartender is already turning away.  The two patrons stare at their reflections in the mirror.

NO COPY


Panel 4:  The reflection of the two men in the mirror, both staring into their glasses.  The SOLDIER scratches his face again.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER:  Ten years we've been meeting here like this...

VON HAMMER:  There shall not be another.


Panel 5:  Same POV.  The SOLDIER turns to look at VON HAMMER, who is still staring into his glass of schnapps.

VON HAMMER:  The cancer will not let me see year's end.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER:  I'm...I'm sorry, I...

VON HAMMER:  I have a favor to ask.


Panel 6:  Same as above, but the SOLDIER has his hand on VON HAMMER's shoulder.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER:  Anything.

VON HAMMER:  I have no more family.  At least none that I know of.  Or any that matters.

VON HAMMER:  But...HE...he had a son that he never saw or held.


Panel 7:  Zoom-in.  Glasses clinked in a toast.  A photo stuck in the frame of the mirror is just in view, but unclear.

VON HAMMER:  My Fokker is in the barn on my farm.  Sell the land, the house, and the plane.

VON HAMMER:  The boy gets everything.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER:  ...Ok.


Panel 8:  Zoom-in, to the photo.  It is a yellowed photo of SGT. ROCK, pointing to a picture of his new baby boy, uncharacteristically smiling.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER:  To Sgt. Rock.

VON HAMMER:  I cannot imagine a better man to have surrendered to.

VON HAMMER:  Ich trinke, um seine Ehre.*

CAPTION (small):  * "I drink, to his honor."

Enemy Ace - Gentlemen of the Skies - J.D. Coughlan

Panel 1: Wide shot. A snowy landscape. Hans von Hammer has just crashed his plane, seen smoking in the background. Von Hammer is some distance from it, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow.

NO TEXT

Panel 2: Close-up of von Hammer. He has spotted something in the distance and is squinting at it.

NO TEXT

Panel 3: Over von Hammer's shoulder. In the distance, easily spotted against the snow, is a figure walking towards him. Nothing can be made out about him yet. Behind the figure, some way away, is another downed plane.

NO TEXT

Panel 4: Same, but they have both gotten closer to each other. It can now be seen that the figure is a British pilot.

NO TEXT

Panel 5: Side view of both men, now about arm's length apart. Their body language indicates they have both halted. They stare at each other.

NO TEXT

Panel 6: Wide shot. Both men have gone their seperate ways, passing by each other, their footprints crossing at that one point.

NO TEXT

END OF PAGE

Enemy Ace – Juliet and John – Shaun Richens.

PAGE FIVE – 9 PANELS.

Layout

9 panel grid.

1. INT. The bar from pages 2 and 3. We are back with John Strange, still sat at the bar. We have pulled back to reveal the shadowy figure stood behind him to be Hans Wagner Hammer (An amalgamation of Hans Von Hammer and Kurt Wagner/ Nightcrawler.)  HANS WAGNER HAMMER has short greying hair and his face is wrinkled but he still looks in great shape for a man of his age, he wears the black and white armour of the SHIELDWATCH agents and around his neck hangs a crucifix on a chain. HAMMER stands behind JOHN his hand still on his shoulder.

         HAMMER:

         I’ve been sent to bring you in John.

         JOHN:

         Do I even have a…

2. Repeat of panel 1, however JOHN and HAMMER are now both gone, only a small cloud of dark blue smokes hands around the bar where they were.

         SFX(Around the smoke)

         BAMF

3. Cut to a shot of GRANT the barkeeper. He is just looking wide-eyed at the area JOHN and HAMMER had jut been.

         GRANT:

         New York gets stranger everyday.

4. INT. Secret Underground Base of shieldwatch. The base is located beneath New York City.

JOHN and HAMMER have just appeared in a long sterile white corridor very similar to the one Juliet was being taken down.

         JOHN:

         … choice.

5. Repeat of panel 4. JOHN is now looking at HAMMER rather annoyed.

         JOHN:

         I’ll take that as a no then shall I.

         HAMMER:

Look Strange you’re a Shieldwatch consultant and I was sent to bring you in. I’m just doing my job.

6. Close up on JOHN.

         JOHN 1:

         Just doing your job, like you did in the war?

         (Link)

         JOHN 2:

Say how do the German government feel about their old war hero working for an American agency?

7. Cut to close up on HAMMER.

         HAMMER:

I know you have your issues with me Doctor Strange, you feel that because I fought against the British in a war before you were even born that I am somehow your enemy. But I’m not.

8. Cut back to close up on JOHN, he is starting to look angry now.

         JOHN:

My only issue with you Hammer is that you used your mutant powers to survive in dogfights that honourable men had to die in.

9. Cut back to close on HAMMER, he is looking down towards the floor, he looks a little hurt by JOHN’s words.

HAMMER 1:

This isn’t about our issues Strange.

(Link)

HAMMER 2:

This is about a girl from another world. 

Enemy Ace – The Flying Aces of World War I – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: HANS VON HAMMER, the ENEMY ACE himself, is flying his Fokker Tri-Plane across the cloudy skies. These aren’t so much hindering clouds so much as picturesque clouds, however.

VON HAMMER: (Thought Balloon) Once again, I take to the skies as part of an ever-darkening war.

Panel 2: VON HAMMER looks out of his plane to the skies as he searches for his quarry.

VON HAMMER: (Thought Balloon) My mission: To hunt down the infamous scourge of the skies, that dogged pilot who refuses to die.

Panel 3: VON HAMMER spots the shadow of a Sopwith Camel flying across the clouds.

VON HAMMER: (Thought Balloon) And then I see him. His plane is one of hundreds just like it.

VON HAMMER (2): (Thought Balloon) But the pilot? The pilot is unmistakable.

Panel 4: VON HAMMER’s plane goes into a maneuver that will take him on an intercept course with the plane he saw in the previous panel.

VON HAMMER: (Thought Balloon) I move into position, ready to strike.

VON HAMMER (2): (Thought Balloon) For today? Today, I shoot down…

Panel 5: Reveal panel – in the foreground is VON HAMMER’s target. It’s SNOOPY in his World War One Flying Ace persona, flying a vehicle that looks like a cross between his doghouse and the Sopwith Camel that he believes it to be. SNOOPY looks over his shoulder as he tries to locate VON HAMMER’s plane behind him.

In the background is VON HAMMER’s Triplane, dramatically moving into position before pulling the trigger so he can try to shoot down SNOOPY.

VON HAMMER: …The World War One Flying Ace!

(END PAGE)

Enemy Ace -Ronin- Dan Hill

PAGE TWENTY TWO

1.
Close up. A shot of an empty whiskey glass as it sits on a wooden bar.

Off: Refill, bitte.

2.
Close up. A bottle has appeared at the top of the panel, pouring whiskey into the glass.

Off: Danke.

3.
Wide panel. Zoom out to reveal Hans Von Hammer sitting at a wooden bar facing us, the whiskey glass in front of him. He’s wearing a dark turtleneck and dark green trousers.Von Hammer is in his mid fifties, the aristocratic looks are now joined by greying hair and lines. He looks like the loneliest man alive.

The bar is dingy, smoke fills the air. A few veterans can be seen drinking in the background, a set of crutches resting against their table.

Caption: SCAP Occupied Tokyo, 1950.

4.
Push in on Von Hammer. He’s about to take a swig, the whiskey glass inches from his mouth.

Off: They say a Samurai is supposed to commit suicide on the loss of his master.

Off: Looks like you’re doing a pretty good job of that.

5.
Zoom out to reveal the source of the voice, Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault, standing behind Von Hammer. He’s wearing civilian clothes, a pair of chinos and a simple cotton shirt.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Lee_Chennault

Chennault: Last place on Earth I’d expect to find you.

Von Hammer: That was the point. What do you want, Chennault?

6.
Chennault takes a stool next to Von Hammer, sitting to his right (our left as we’re still facing them from across the bar).

Chennault: Ah, so you know who I am. I’ll cut to the chase then. I’m here with a job opportunity.

Von Hammer: I’m fifty four years old.

Chennault: It’s a brave new world, Mr Von Hammer. Allies are enemies. Enemies are allies.

7.
Close up on Von Hammer. He’s listening.

Off: So, how’d you like to come and fight the good fight?

Enemy Ace - In His Cups - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Establishing shot.  An outside shot of a barracks.  Night time.  The majority of the men are out at the bar for the evening, celebrating a recent victory.  A candle shines in one of the windows.  The captions are written in the style of a handwritten journal.

CAPTION (VON HAMMER): In one sense, I cannot fault their misunderstanding.  My initial act was rather grossly ostentatious.

2 - Move the shot in closer to the window.  Through the gloom cast by the shadow of the candle, a figure (Von Hammer) is visible writing at his desk.

CAPTION (VON HAMMER): And yet it is something I continue to do.

3 - Move into Von Hammer's room.  While it is dark, you can make out Von Hammer writing at his desk.

CAPTION (VON HAMMER): I cannot say what my original intention was, although I know it was not to celebrate death, as their words would suggest.

4 - Von Hammer looks up from his writing, towards something off-panel.  He looks determined, believing the words that he writes.

CAPTION (VON HAMMER): Individually, they are a marker.  Taken together, a reminder.  Of my past actions.  Of the burden I must carry for what I have done.

5 - Von Hammer looks away from the off-panel object.  Glancing back at his writing, he now wears a look of frustration.

CAPTION (VON HAMMER): I would explain this to the others, but I know they would not understand.  Nevertheless, I wish they would refrain from using that word.

6 - The panel turns towards where Von Hammer has been looking.  One of the silver cups (those that he orders after each confirmed kill) sits atop a shelf.  Others are almost visible in the gloom, but the panel is really focusing on only one.  The light of the candle illuminates it from below, giving it a dark, possibly nefarious, appearance.

CAPTION (VON HAMMER): "Trophy."

Enemy Ace - Lessons Learnt - Ben Rosenthal

1.  A classroom in 1924.  The following diagram (/math/2/f/5/2f5cafe783184f1881c99fbeaafe7a80.webp)  is on the black board, with all students facing forward except one. In the middle of class a young boy lazes back in his chair, looking out the window.

TEACHER

< Therefore, what does the following formula tell us? Hm? >*

CAPTION

*Translated from German.

2.  From the teacher’s point of view.  All the students are avoiding his gaze as they are not sure what the answer is.  All accept, again the young man who is looking out the window.

TEACHER (Off panel)

< No one?  Right.  Von Hammer, tell them. >

3.  The student who was looking out the window is now facing front, rattling off the answer.

VON HAMMER

< Sir, it shows that the period of oscillation is independent of both the amplitude and gravitational acceleration , Sir .>

4.  The teacher is looking at Von Hammer.  He is impressed.

TEACHER

< Correct, as usual Von Hammer.  I think we have a future physicist in our class, hm? >

VON HAMMER

< Not me Sir. > 

5.  Von Hammer’s Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker is in the air in the midst of battle.

CAPTION (Von Hammer)

< I'm going to be a pilot. >

Enemy Ace - Cold Skies, Cold Eyes - Niel Jacoby

Panel 1: Hans Von Hammer sits in his triplane, taking off his helmet after a stressful dogfight.

CAPTION(HANS): ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOGFIGHT.

Panel 2: Hans sits, solemn, staring at his many trophies. He has a drink in his hand.

CAPTION(HANS): I HAVEN'T HAD A DECENT HUNT IN DAYS.

Panel 3: Hans walks through the forest with his rifle, the wolf by his side. It is the dead of night.

CAPTION(HANS): EVEN MY HUNTS IN THE FOREST HAVE BEEN DULL AND AIMLESS.

Panel 4: Hans and the wolf are startled.

SFX: BRKKK-KK-KK-KK

SFX: K-PLW!

Panel 5: Hans looks over his destroyed triplane on the hangar, lit only by the burning planes around him.

CAPTION(HANS): ONLY ONE FLIER HAS THE ACUITY TO MAKE A NIGHT RUN IN THIS DARK.

Panel 6: We see a pitch black biplane soar through the sky, a cat's eye painted onto the nose of its propeller.

CAPTION(HANS): THE RUSSIAN ACE, Ночной ветер - THE NIGHT WIND.

Inset Panel: Hans is smiling.

CAPTION(HANS): QUITE THE CHALLENGE.

Why Enemy Ace?

Because it's interesting to see war from the other side.

Hans Von Hammer, the Hammer Of Hell, was created by Robert Kahnigher and Joe Kubert in the pages of Our Army At War #151. A German air ace in WWI, Hans is the most deadly pilot in Germany, and possibly in all of WWI. Each adventure, he earns at least one kill, and with it another trophy. But, as we see time and time again, he finds no joy in celebrating these victories, only in hunting in the forest with a wolf, who unfailingly greets him with a tense staredown that only ends in the acceptance that they cannot kill one another, as each sees the other as his only true companion and brother in the hunt.

Also, air combat is hella rad.