Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities The 2nd All Avengers Thread

I looked at the solicitations for each of the 6 issues that have been published, and...I appreciate the obvious effort to undo Hickman's awful work, but the F4 is to me what Hal Jordan is to a lot of people -- there's just no going back after what they did.

Glad I was spared knowing about any of that. I think I've read Kirby FF and reprints of FF around the time of Byrne. So, fairly unblemished.

First impressions of the first issue of Avengers v9:

I'm sure there's already fanboys complaining about character continuity, but TBH, as I get older I try to live more and more in the here and now. New writer Jed MacKay does acknowledge the most recent developments in the MU, most of which I haven't read and never will. All that matters to me is how much I like these characters TODAY, and for the most part, I do, especially Carol. My one quibble is with the writer trying to turn the Black Panther into The Most Dangerous Man Alive -- my immediate reaction was, "Ugh, Morrison Batman," but then I remembered that Christopher Priest's classic take on T'Challa was conceptually similar. It's all going to depend on MacKay's long-term execution.

The structure of the issue is a bit trite and cheesy, but it does the job of introducing casual readers to the new roster.

C.F. Villa's art is pleasing to me, not particularly innovative but still all-around solid.

Having read the Timeless one-shot special from a few months ago, I wasn't surprised at what happens in the last 2 pages of this issue. But I'll definitely be back next month to see where it goes from here.

Rating: 8 x

My immediate impressions of Avengers v9 issue 2:

The art is rougher. A lot rougher!

Jed MacKay had better find a less schematic approach to writing a team book. If the next issue is structured the same way as the first two, then there will be a substantial loss of my interest in this series.

Next issue is a big battle against a team of monsters. Make or break time.

Rating: 6×

My enthusiasm for Avengers v9 diminishes with each successive issue, to the point where I can't be bothered to comment on it.

Instead, I'm going to talk about filling a recent gap in my Avengers collection: Avengers Annual 13, from 1984, written by the estimable Roger Stern and drawn by the one-time-only team of Steve Ditko (pencils) and John Byrne (inks.)

Stern's script is solid enough, though it's unusually overcrowded (guest appearances by Beast, Pym, Reed Richards, and She-Hulk, augmenting a roster of Cap, Thor, Monica, and Janet) and overplotted. The main thrust of the story is that the Hulk has been exiled to another dimension, and the gloriously weird Kirby villain Arnim Zola is putting Bruce Banner's deserted laboratory to evil uses, including the creation of a small army of Hulk clones!

What hurts the issue badly is the art, and I have to put the majority of the blame on Ditko, with the caveat that Jim Shooter's micromanagement probably did some of the damage. There are way too many closeups (never one of Ditko's strengths) and the rest is unimaginative, stiff, and sometimes incomprehensible. I still haven't been able to figure out exactly what happened to Zola's getaway craft at the end. Byrne, to his credit, does turn in a good job with the inks, but it's sad that this team-up with one of his artistic heroes turned out to be a waste of Byrne's efforts.

Although I like this issue better than most of Stern's other pre-Buscema Avengers stories (after all, Milgrom would have drawn it far worse than Ditko,) it still doesn't change my mind that Stern only really hit his stride with the arrival of Buscema & Palmer.

Anyone else want to share their thoughts on this Annual?

Looking at the cover online I feel like I read it a long time ago but can't access my collection at the moment to check. I did have access to a "comic library" around that time which was just before I started really collecting so it's possible I did read it even if I don't have it.

The story sounds interesting if a bit bonkers. I can certainly see Byrne's influence on the cover. Pity you report on the inside art being not as much up to snuff.

LOL

Bonkers is a good word for it.

Thanks for chiming in, Stile.

Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share about the first four issues of Avengers v9?

To be honest I haven't read them yet. Always seems to be something else to do. Now maybe I have a reason to get to them.

I don't think I've read that annual since I first bought it, so the memory is extremely fuzzy! Can't even remember if I liked it or not!

I remember that annual! I always thought the Beast was way more fun as an Avenger than an X-Man (which recent events in the X-titles definitely support!)

Also, one of the things I really liked was the Beast feeling out of his depth working with Reed Richards and Hank Pym...I miss when comic book scientists weren't just interchangeable...

re the latest Avengers series...it's 1000 times better than Jason Aaron's nonsense, but honestly that's not difficult. I am not really grabbed by it though; the team roster is very safe, and continues the JLA-ification of the Avengers by trying to make them into iconic archetypes....I much prefer some C & D-listers in my Avengers team, gimme a Triathlon or Hellcat in there!

Stile, glad to hear that. Look forward to your comments on v9.

Lardy, no worries. If you've never re-read it in almost 40 years, I think that says a lot about what kind of impression it made on you. LOL.

Raz, I think you've raised a very good point about superhero scientists being far more distinctive back in the day. It also helps to justify why they're all in this annual in the first place. Regarding Beast, though, I have to politely disagree. His early appearances in Avengers, circa the Serpent Crown Saga, those I love, but after that the writers changed and he got kind of annoying to me. As for v9, once again you raise good points -- it is JLA Redux, especially the portrayal of Black Panther as Black Batman; and I'd prefer some C-Listers as well, although you must be one of the very few who liked Triathlon, whom I personally consider the Tyroc of the Avengers (that is to say, an offensive character who might be somehow redeemed by good writing.)

I have to side with raz, here. Though it's probably because I first encountered Hank in Avengers back issues (my first "current" issues off the shelf was the "Spidey...an Avenger?" 2-parter, circa 237), and he was so much fun! I immediately liked Hank and Simon as best buds, for example. When he rejoined the X-teams, the big words seemed emphasized more than his carefree nature. And articles I've browsed involving him in the recent runs have painted him as a dick at best and pretty much evil at worst. Give me fun Avengers-Hank any day!



I've mixed feelings about this. On one hand, you can develop characters not tied to their own ongoing series. On the other hand, I love seeing the iconic heroes teaming up. Honestly, many of the most classic Avengers, like Clint, Wanda, Nat, Shulky, Monica and Vision, started out as C- or D-listers and got elevated in people's minds to the degree that many fans clamor for them in every lineup. There's not much clamoring for Triathlon, Gilgamesh, Rage, Justice, etc., but I'm always hoping for the next one to emerge.



Not necessarily! By and large MOST things I've read in comics, I've yet to re-read, even if I absolutely adored them! (I do doubt that's the case with this annual, though. I recall that many Marvel annuals of the '80s were disappointing, especially when compared to many DC annuals of the same decade.)


When I read this part, I was struck by how the modern T'Challa, in the comics, at least, was actually more like modern Batman is before Batman! I mean, I think we're referring to how Grant Morrison (primarily) redefined Batman as being ten steps (at least) ahead of everyone else, basically the so-called 'Bat-God'. But I feel like Christopher Priest's redefinition of T'Challa is virtually simultaneous. A quick search shows Morrison's JLA debuted prior to Priest's BP, but it took a while for Morrison's take to become the pre-eminent one. Priest's was instantaneous and bolder in some ways. So an argument could be made that Batman is the white Black Panther instead of the other way around!

I think the Christopher Priest Black Panther was a good development - it really gave him a place beyond just being "athletic guy who isn't Captain America or Ka-Zar"...but he does tend to be written as black Batman nowadays, and I don't even like when Batman is written as the batgod so I'm not gonna like it anymore when T'challa is written that way.

There seems to be a real movement these days toward making all superheroes of equally ridiculous power level, and personally I much preferred when the human ones had more specifically appropriate skills to different situations but couldn't just blithely stand up to someone like Juggernaut or Darkseid on their own.

Priest did what I felt was a good job with Black Panther. That the current Avengers writer, Jed MacKay, is getting him so wrong goes to show how tricky it is to write a non-powered character on a superhero team.

Morrison, in my opinion, turned Batman into their own Gary Stu. But, in fairness, I have to say that Bob Harras did the same with Black Knight -- I just didn't want to admit it at the time, because I had such a crush on the character and also because those years were the peak of my enthusiasm for superhero comics.

Dane's a funny one, he's been around so long as a character but he gets such weirdly different characterisations every time he pops up again! I liked the Stern version of him where he was kind of the mild-mannered no drama guy.

Also, I get why Harras gave him his lightsaber in lieu of the ebony blade but as impractical as it sometimes is for a non-killing hero to carry around the world's deadliest sword I still prefer him with the ebony blade anyway. It was cool seeing him carve up robots and forcefields and whatnot back in the day!

When you put it that way, it makes sense that he was so attracted to Janet. Both of them have had wildly inconsistent personalities grafted onto them by each successive Avengers writer. LOL

Preeeesenting...

The Official 30th Anniversary Re-Read of Avengers: The Gathering (with Operation Galactic Storm added for good measure)

Avengers 343 (Cover Date: January 1992)

The cover is a familiar superhero trope (someone is back from the dead, apparently, and he wields a mean sword to boot) but no less effective for it, to say nothing of pleasing to the eye. Even with the overwhelming inks of Tom Palmer, it is clear that Steve Epting is a cut above Marvel's other pencil artists at the time. Composition, anatomy, faces -- he's got it all mastered, all the more impressive when one considers that he had made an underwhelming debut less than ten issues earlier, having had to take over the entirety of the bi-weekly Collection Obsession storyline after Andy Kubert dropped out. A learning curve, to be sure, but, like one of his greatest artistic predecessors on the Avengers series, John Buscema, it paid off handsomely.

And for all that The Gathering is often remembered as being over the top and overwrought, this opening chapter is surprisingly quiet, witty, and thoughtful. We begin with the Avengers' loyal butler, Jarvis, standing proud and dignified on the roof of Avengers mansion, accompanied by the Vision (whose disassembly and reconstruction have left him emotionless (maybe) and looking like a talking bottle of sour milk) and Thor (but not the Real Thor, rather Thor's deputy, regular-dude blue-collar man Eric Masterson.) On the first page alone, writer Bob Harras already establishes a flair for the banter and the distinctive, everyone-with-their-own-voice characterizations that are so much a part of the Avengers that fans know and love.)

Turn the page, and we witness the arrival of Crystal, the erstwhile Inhuman princess who had helped out the Avengers during the Collector/Brethren incident and is now beginning her official tenure as a full-fledged member of the Avengers. Thanks to the teleportation powers of the Inhumans pet dog Lockjaw, she has arrived quickly and safely on the mansion's roof. Accompanying Crystal are her baby daughter Luna and the Inhumans' royal nanny, Marilla. A brassy, outspoken sort, Marilla does not immediately endear herself to Jarvis, nor, I'm sure, to a lot of readers, but in my opinion the comedy theatrics of her sparring with Jarvis are on point and refreshing.

By page 7, Harras & Epting have done a masterfully economical job of getting lapsed readers and newcomers alike up to speed on all things Avengers. When we suddenly jump into an action sequence of Hercules and Black Knight fighting what appear to be robotic intruders, it seems at first to be obligatory and contrived to break up the monotony. But soon, we discover there is a point to the mayhem -- it's actually a training exercise sprung up by the Avengers on their new members. Crystal, and, especially, Deputy Thor are miffed, understandably so, but Crystal quickly and quietly comes around -- after all, as she points out, she used to be in the Fantastic Four. Finally, the Black Knight flaunts his new, Star Wars inspired, energy sword -- this is not the mild-mannered Black Knight we are accustomed to, although it's not as much out of the blue as it might seem, because this newly brash Dane Whitman had actually been first seen in the second-to-final issue of Avengers Spotlight (readers can be forgiven for being unaware of that; I myself didn't know until I first read that issue last year!)

Then comes a one-page late-night conversation between Captain America and Black Widow that remains one of my favorite scenes of this entire Avengers Era. Although I loathe the Widow's pixie cut, which she had been sporting since the early-mid 80s, the creators characterize her in a warm, witty, understated way that I find impossible to dislike (I'll admit I also have a personal fanwank that this isn't really Natasha, but rather an impostor who took her place after the Real Natasha was last seen in her George Perez-drawn solo showcase in Marvel Fanfare, and at some point in the Post-Onslaught continuity, there was an untold tale of the Real Natasha reemerging to take her rightful place; but I digress.) Cap, too, is very likable here as he calmly but firmly addresses the need for the Avengers to feel like more than a bunch of randomly-thrown-together superheroic strangers. Metafictional, yes, but in a good way.

Almost one day later, Crystal is on monitor duty, working on trying to save her marriage to Quicksilver (Luna's father,) which has been on the rocks since she cheated on him and he had one of his villainous turncoat "episodes." They agree, once again in a refreshingly low-key fashion, to get together that weekend and try to work it out. Vision accidentally (?) stumbles in at the tail end of the couple's conversation, just in time to play Agony Uncle to Crystal. And yet again, new and lapsed readers learn get all the exposition they need, in a marvelously economical way.

Suddenly, the placidity is shattered by a top-level alert -- apparently the Fantastic Four are being attacked at their own headquarters in another part of New York City, and they need the Avengers' help. The Human Torch (Crystal's ex-boyfriend) appears on the screen sporting bruises and a black eye, desperately pleading for help.

In the blink of an eye, a team of Avengers (Crystal, Black Knight, Hercules, Deputy Thor, and Vision, arrive at the appropriate location, only for the emergency alert to turn out to be the set-up for an ambush. And who should the aggressors turn out to be but the presumably deceased Swordsman and his mysterious warrior-woman companion? This is a callback on the creators' part to one of the Golden Eras of the Avengers series, and it's the perfect carrot for them to dangle in front of readers and leave them hungry for the next issue!

Originally, I'd read the Avengers from around 237 (dealing with the then possibility of Spidey being an Avenger, which drew young Spidey reader Lardy to the title) until at some point near the end of Larry Hama's (pretty terrible) run. So I missed the Collection Obsession, which marked pretty much the beginning of the Harra/Epting era by probably a little less than a year. I wouldn't become a regular reader again until Busiek & Perez relaunched the book after the best-forgotten Heroes Reborn. I left again a few issues into Bendis's New Avengers run. In the intervening years after I left, I made it my mission to read every issue of the Avengers from the beginning until around 196, where I would be caught up on every Avengers issue that came out before the point I'd previous read. (After starting around 237, I got and read every back issue to 200 and many issues in the 180s and 190s as a young reader.) I'd never sought out anything between the end of the Hama run and the Heroes Return relaunch because I hadn't ever heard any good buzz about any of it. Harras/Epting, particularly, I'd felt from perusing the covers and descriptions that Harras had tried to X-Men-ize the Avengers, especially when I had also stopped getting the X-Men (of which I'd collected before and after my Avengers run) shortly after X-Men 25 (the wedding of Scott and Jean). I'm also pretty sure I sampled Operation Galactic Storm and/or Blood Ties and was unimpressed, probably because I only read particular chapters of whatever X-title I was still collecting and was confused and fed up with crossovers in general.

The bulk of my particpation in this thread's first volume centered around the above-mentioned Avengers reading project, but in and around that discussion, I had 2 particular posters speak highly of the Harras/Epting run. These posters were/are Ann and Cobalt Kid, two posters whose reading recommendations I highly respect. I kept the recommendations in mind. When the Avengers: The Gathering Omnibus was solicited, I decided to first get the issues of the Collection Obsession to see if I liked it. While it didn't blow me away, I decided I saw enough to make the Omnibus purchase. I read it either early this year or late last year and was glad I did. As Ann continues, I will try to chime in and examine my feelings about this massive storyline and all its many detours.

Now, to the issue at hand,343, I agree with much of what Ann says above: the issue is very nicely illustrated, the characterizations and interactions are on point and a mystery is nicely teased.

What I want to comment on, with very mild spoilers, is the use of Eric Masterson as Thor. Though I never really read much of Eric's stories, I felt a pull towards him when he became Thunderstrike and got his own series. I bought a few issues of that book, but I think my dropping it may have coincided with when my original CBS went out of business and my dabbling in internet subscriptions until I discovered my current CBS. Anyhow, I realized at some point in the interim that Thunderstrike was cancelled and the title character was killed off. (Like every character at Marvel, I think he was eventually brought back or his kid took the mantle--or probably both?!?) So I was intrigued to see that the pre-Thunderstrike Eric was included.

So the minor spoiler here (so minor that I don't think a spoiler box is necessary) is that Eric/Thor doesn't stick around very long. In fact, as I read the Omnibus, I don't feel that his departure was ever acknowledged or even given an explanation. Now, Operation Galactic Storm is not included in the Omnibus, so perhaps there's an explanation there or in an issue of Thor, but it was somewhat of a surprise to see him and Crystal set up as the new kids on the block, only for Eric to just disappear. Subliminally, though, I had to expect it because he's nowhere to be seen on the Omnibus cover and was never a part of the teases that Ann and Cobie gave me, nor of what little I already knew of the era.

Anyhow, it's hard to see that the core cast that would evolve as the run goes on actually needed Eric. I assume that the departure matched up with the actual Odinson taking back over his title. Also, maybe Bob didn't really want Eric in the book in the first place and wrote him out at the first opportunity? Hard to say, but the part of me that remembers digging Thunderstrike was a little disappointed. Plus, the continued presence of a novice hero might have added a little something to the mix...perhaps.

Interestingly enough, at least one, possibly a couple more, heroes also drop out of the lineup with no explanation provided, if memory serves, late in the run.

(None of this is intended to undermine Ann's review, but lacking any significant insights to add on the story itself, I thought I'd go on this tangent.)

Lardy, what I personally consider ironic about Eric Masterson's brief Avengers tenure is that I liked him a lot better there, as written by Bob Harras, than as written by his creator, Tom DeFalco, in both Thor and in Thunderstrike.

Now, I have to qualify that by saying that I was never a regular follower of either series when DeFalco was the writer. The few times I read Eric outside of the Avengers, his intended everyman persona seemed overbearing, even borderline obnoxious at times. I liked Harras's take on him better, but I'd be spoiling things to come in future Avengers issues if I elaborated further at this time.

The other irony is that when Eric was written out of the Avengers so that the Real Thor could return and Eric could become Thunderstrike, Harras basically had Dane Whitman take over the everyman role on the team. And back then, I loved the results! However, in 20-20 hindsight I have far more mixed feelings. Again, I'd be spoiling what lies ahead in this run if I were to elaborate right now.

To address some of your other points, I was a regular reader of Avengers from 356 through 384. And just as Spider-Man's guest appearance in 237 was what brought you aboard the Avengers, a guest appearance from Black Panther in 356 was what brought me in.

I felt at the time, and still feel today, that it was unfair for the Busieks of the world to say that the creators of this Avengers Era were trying to X-Men up the team. I was reading both series at the same time and felt like each team had its own distinctive flavor. Moreover, even if Harras WAS deliberately trying to do just that, the results were PLEASING TO ME -- which, in my opinion, is what matters most.

Avengers 344 (Cover Date February 1992)

I love the front cover to this issue! It's so dynamic, and, at the same time, so beautiful to look at -- the very quintessence of mainstream genre comic book art. If the previous issue's cover is attractive despite its cliche design, this one feels just as fresh and exciting today as it did when it was hot off the presses. It's also a fairly accurate advertisement of what lies within the covers, as the crux of the story is, indeed, the swordfight between Black Knight and this strange crypto-Swordsman.

More objectively, this issue is an extended action sequence which suffers several rude interruptions on its way to an anticlimax which leaves the Avengers feeling demoralized and confused. But as we shall see, that was pretty much the whole point!

At first, the Swordsman's taunts merely seem like an impostor's sadistic mind game designed to keep the Avengers off-balance, a familiar enough superhero trope. But as the issue progresses, the plot and the ambiguity both get thicker!

To say nothing of the Swordsman's awesome companion, the battle-armored, raven-haired, Amazonian-looking powerhouse who goes by the name Magdalene. She actually manages to seriously wound Hercules, a demigod, with her energy lance!

As action art goes, the layouts are flawless, but Tom Palmer's finishes have a few too many rough edges, especially compared to the slick, smooth look of the previous issue. I'd love to see Steve Epting's original pencils, to compare and contrast with the printed results.

About the aforementioned interruptions to the battle:

The first one starts out as a comedy routine involving Jarvis and Marilla; unfortunately, it's not nearly as funny as the two servants' banter from the previous issue; it's more like one of those below-average SNL sketches that belabor a single joke for much too long. And there's not even a punchline, because the elusive Sersi takes the spotlight so that she can accidentally see herself in a mirror as she runs down the mansion hallway -- she is distressed by what she sees, while readers are kept in the dark...for the moment.

The other interruptions are quick cuts to a space station far above the planet Earth, which serve the purpose of preludes to the big event storyline Operation Galactic Storm, which will occupy the entire Avengers family of books for the three months to follow.

Finally, we see the battle's post-mortem from both sides -- the villains, who beat a strategic retreat via teleportation, confer with their apparent leader, a sinister and imposing type with the appellation Proctor; the Avengers, for their part, report to their chairman, Captain America, and his lieutenant, Black Widow; Hercules gets my favorite line, after Black Knight says they must consider the possibility that they are dealing with the Real Swordsman, who has somehow been brought back to life -- Hercules replies, "If so...his tortured soul was brought back from beyond the River Styx by the DEMONESS who didst stand at his side! For only a sorceress could inflict such PAIN on the Prince of Power!" (That kind of dialogue is admittedly an acquired taste, but to me, it's CATNIP!)

So, plenty of action and intrigue are afoot in the Avengers' flagship book -- that's the good news. The not so good news is that we'll have to wait until issue 348 for the creators to pick these threads back up, because of the aforementioned Operation Galactic Storm.

I have decided to include OGS in these reviews, not just because I think it's an above-average event storyline, but also because, while there is nothing in it that is crucial to understanding the ongoing Gathering storyline, the creative team manages to sneak in some choice bits which I think enhance the Gathering narrative proper.

Operation Galactic Storm Parts 1 through 7 (of 19) (All Cover Dates Are March 1992)

Part 1: Captain America 398 -- Cap is unable to prevent Rick Jones from being kidnapped by members of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard; slow pacing and dull artwork make this chapter unmemorable.

Part 2: Avengers West Coast 80 -- The West Coasters and Captain America rescue Rick, but not before the Guardsmen have used him to find and procure the Kree Psyche-Magnetron; dialogue was never Roy Thomas's greatest strength, but by the 90s it was EXCRUCIATINGLY BAD; the artwork is frantic and hard to follow.

Part 3: Quasar 32 -- Finally, a half-decent installment, with good artwork by Greg Capullo; Quasar and Starfox battle Dr. Minerva and Captain Atlas, trying to prevent the Kree villains from profaning Captain Mar-Vell's tomb and stealing the Nega-Bands; the Imperial Guard intervene, but what looks like an attack en masse turns out to mostly be an illusion by Magique, the Projectra analog.

Part 4: Wonder Man 7 -- Blatant, pointless filler, made even worse by being played for laughs; the lowest point of the entire event storyline; Rick Jones is mercifully set free by the Avengers.

Part 5: Avengers 345 -- After a subpar showing on issue 344, inker Tom Palmer is back on form here; Steve Epting's pencils are exquisite, especially the giant conference room panel and the attack by the Shi'ar armada; Bob Harras continues to impress with his ability to capture the individual voices of each Avenger; the East Coast and West Coast teams combine forces to save Earth's sun from going supernova, and form three squads -- one to go to the Shi'ar Empire, one to go to the Kree Empire, and one to guard the Earth; meanwhile, Sersi has become worryingly bloodthirsty, which is probably why Captain America puts her on his squad, to keep a closer watch on her.

Part 6: Iron Man 278 -- The first IM issue written by Len Kaminski, whose run lasted until just before The Crossing, and who is my favorite IM writer; Paul Ryan's art usually bores me, and this issue is no exception; after Cap's squad arrives at the Kree Empire, the Kree send their super-cyborg Shatterax to battle Iron Man; a fun installment that actually moves the plot forward.

Part 7: Thor 445 -- Eric Masterson versus Gladiator, Marvel's most memorable Superman analog and the most powerful member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard; for a change, Eric's obnoxiousness is understandable -- he's in outer space, scared out of his wits, and fighting for his life and that of the squad led by Captain Marvel (Monica); Tom DeFalco's script isn't bad, but Pat Oliffe (who later went on to become a good, solid artist) turns in a hysterically bad job that reminds me of those 1970s Sal Buscema last-minute fill-in jobs that damaged Our Pal Sal's reputation for a long time.

In summary:

OGS stumbles out of the gate, but quickly gains its balance and establishes a brisk, steady trot. It was originally conceived as a multi-part storyline for Quasar's solo book, and it arguably would have been better that way, at the very least more concise and better paced. Still better than average for an event storyline.

Operation Galactic Storm Parts 8 through 14 (All Cover Dates April 1992)

Part 8: Captain America 399 -- Captain America vs Korath the Pursuer, a Kree scientist/warrior who subjected himself to his own super-soldier experimental process; could've been interesting if the script and art weren't both so dreary and bland.

Part 9: Avengers West Coast 81 -- Oh, gods, what a painful read this is; Roy and Dann Thomas make the Avengers' Earth squad so unlikable that I actually wanted to see them harmed by the villains (among them are analogs of Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, and Chameleon Boy)

Part 10: Quasar 33 -- Brand-sparkling new Legion analogs are introduced here, courtesy of writer Mark Gruenwald: Karate Kid, Dawnstar, Matter-Eater Lad, Rond Vidar, and a male teleporter who, as far as I know, has no Legion counterpart (Gates would not be created until almost three years after this story.) Also, a guest appearance by Carol Danvers in her Binary phase. Unfortunately, Greg Capullo only draws the cover.

Part 11: Wonder Man 8 -- And the guest stars keep rolling in: Dave Cockrum's Starjammers (Corsair, Raza, Ch'od, and Hepzibah,) whom the Shi'ar railroad into transporting the Nega-Bomb, a super-weapon powered by the cosmic trinkets which the Shi'ar stole earlier in the storyline; Corsair, their leader, refuses on principle to participate, leaving the other three to fight it out with Vision and Wonder Man, who break away from the Avengers squad; the unlikely duo convices the Starjammers to cut the bomb loose and run away...except this leaves the duo stranded inside the drifting bomb.

Part 12: Avengers 346 -- Epting and Palmer turn in a very good job on the art, though not quite as good as they're capable of; Captain America's squad finally storms the Kree's main citadel, but are intercepted by the newly formed Kree Starforce (Ultimus, Shatterax, Korath, Supremor, Atlas, and Minerva,) which has been assembled by the Supreme Intelligence, who seeks to regain control of the Empire through devious means which include the high-ranking Shi'ar Deathbird assassinating his rivals, after which he pins the blame on the Avengers, whose battle against Starforce is brought to a standstill; what really sells me on this installment is the Supreme Intelligence's omniscent narration, Harras once again showing his flair for purple prose -- I like to imagine the Supreme Intelligence speaking with a volcanic growl similar to the voice Frank Welker used for Darkseid, Soundwave, and Doctor Claw!

Part 13: Iron Man 278 -- Iron Man vs Ronan the Accuser; what should have been a classic battle between a founding Avenger and one of their veteran rogues is, unfortunately, truncated and poorly drawn, although Iron Man's willingness to sacrifice himself via his armor's self-destruct program is weirdly admirable; still a pretty decent installment.

Part 14: Thor 446 -- Starforce (led by Ronan instead of Atlas & Minerva) vs The Imperial Guard and Captain Marvel's Avengers squad. Plenty of good stuff here, including the debut of the Guardsmen's Bouncing Boy analog; among the choicest bits is a rare show of bad-assery from Shi'ar Empress Lilandra; some of Tom DeFalco's dialogue is cringe-inducing, but he keeps the action moving along nicely; Olliffe's art is just as bad as last issue.

In summary: This event really gets cooking at its midpoint; I recall that it kinda flounders a bit after this, but the gutsy shocker of an ending makes it all worthwhile -- let's see if that's how I still feel after I re-read the final installments.

OPERATION GALACTIC STORM Parts 15 through 19 (All Cover Dates are May 1992) Plus Epilogues 1, 2A, and 2B (Cover Dates June-July 1992)

Part 15: Captain America 400 -- The Supreme Intelligence attempts to assimilate Captain America into himself, but Cap proves too strong-willed, although the Intelligence sets him free with a cryptic warning about "what little time you have left;" the premise has great potential, but the execution is unimaginative and flat.

Part 16: Avengers West Coast 82 -- Here the story mostly spins its wheels, except for the revelation that Lilandra's Chief Advisor is a Skrull in disguise (the little green rascals have also hijacked the Nega Bomb); this is almost as much of a low point as Wonder Man 7, though not quite as awful.

Part 17: Quasar 34 -- The Skrulls threaten to use the Nega Bomb on Earth if Quasar, who is guarding the Stargates, doesn't let them through to their intended target of the Kree Empire; damned if he does and damned if he doesn't, Quasar lets them through; Quasar then sets out to save the sun, which is only achieved with considerable help from Binary (Carol Danvers,) who nearly burns to death (not in a graphic way, thankfully); Quasar leaves Carol at Avengers Mansion to convalesce, while he makes a beeline for the Kree Empire; the story regains its footing with this installment, though Capullo is still missed on interior art (he'll be back for the 2-part epilogue.)

Part 18: Wonder Man 9 -- Wonder Man and a shockingly cold-hearted Vision are still inside the Nega-Bomb, fighting off Skrulls while they argue about the shaky morality of actually detonating the bomb; that become a moot point when all the fighting ends up accidentally setting off the detonator; this installment is a bit drawn-out and ham-fisted, but it gets the job done of setting up the grand finale.

Part 19: Avengers 347 -- BOOM! And the Kree are conquered by the Shi'ar; but before that, the Avengers round up everybody from their two space squads (all the members survived, for reasons too complicated to get into, but which I am willing to suspend disbelief for,) then head to the devastated Kree throne-world to see if Cap has survived as well; just before finding Cap (and Deathbird,) they are assaulted by Captain Atlas, who has deluded himself into thinking that the Avengers are Shi'ar dupes -- it turns out that the Kree are the real dupes...of their own leader, the Supreme Intelligence, who deliberately orchestrated the genocide of his own people in order to jump-start their genetic evolution, AND Atlas's partner, Doctor Minerva was in on the Intelligence's plan all along (here I have to pause to give kudos to the art team of Epting & Palmer for making the unrepentant Minerva's facial expression so damn SCARY; Atlas sets his battle-suit to self-detonate, as he cannot live with himself; Minerva runs straight into the blast, and both appear to be vaporized; now, the Avengers are divided over whether to be judge, jury, and executioner to the Supreme Intelligence -- those who end up on the killing expedition are Iron Man, Sersi, Hercules, Thor (Eric Masterson,) Wonder Man, Vision, and Black Knight, the last of whom delivers the killing blow to the Intelligence's semi-organic brain; the only one to feel any ambivalence is Eric Masterson; Black Knight has been surprisingly bloodthirsty throughout this intergalactic conflict (not unlike Sersi, come to think of it); and finally, Lilandra and her entourage arrive in all their pomp to make the conquest official; but in a nearby sector of space, the essence of the Supreme Intelligence has survived, and he is downloaded by a pair of loyalists (one of them a Skrull) onto a new computer...

Epilogue 1: Captain America 401 -- Interestingly, the epilogues are entirely the work of Mark Gruenwald; this one showcases Gruenwald at his worst, with trite, stilted dialogue and unconvincingly stoic behavior from Cap, Hawkeye, and Iron Man (perhaps they're all meant to be in denial, but Gruenwald's not a good enough writer to bring that kind of nuance to his scripts.)

Epilogue 2A: Quasar 35 -- After quitting the Avengers (the only one he said goodbye to was Captain America,) Quasar heads back to the former Kree throne-world with his allies Makkari and Her; all he wants to do is help the surviving Kree, but he is rudely rebuffed by Starforce (now led by Deathbird); on a nearby planet, Quasar finds a mystical/religious service for the souls of the dead Kree, but something's does not go right, and that "something" is a giant cosmic monster.

Epilogue 2B: Quasar 36 -- The behemoth turns out to be the Soul-Eater, an obscure villain from a Bronze Age Thor storyline (Gruenwald, who was to Marvel continuity what Mark Waid is to DC continuity, loved doing this kind of thing in his stories), and Quasar encourages the souls of the Kree to stop letting themselves be used by the Soul-Eater and set themselves free; if, as I noted before, Epilogue 1 was Gruenwald at his worst, Epilogue 2 is Gruenwald at his best, a heartfelt and moving tale that takes the edge off the bleakness off the main storyline's dark resolution (although, as with the ELO song "Living Thing," there is a hint of what might be interpreted -- rightly or wrongly -- as Pro-Life propaganda) -- of course, the excellent, if slightly overblown, artwork from Greg Capullo helps considerably (Capullo, sadly, would leave Quasar a couple issues later for the more lucrative X-Force gig.)

In summary: Yes, I still believe that Operation Galactic Storm, for all its flaws (chiefly the inconsistent quality of the individual tie-ins, along with its excessive length and the resulting lulls in pacing) is a very underrated event storyline, and one which engages me emotionally in ways that even Crisis on Infinite Earths never did. Say what you will against OGS, but, unlike CoIE, it didn't change its mind every couple of issues about what groups of characters to focus on. All that said, it probably would have been even better had it been the Quasar solo storyline it was originally planned as (especially since that makes it likely that Greg Capullo would have drawn at least the majority of the installments.)

And finally:

WHAT IF - THE AVENGERS HAD LOST OPERATION GALACTIC STORM? (What If v.2, issues 55-56, cover dates Nov-Dec 1993)

Written by the often estimable Len Kaminski, who participated in the original storyline (he wrote the Iron Man tie-ins,) this is a superb alternate-timeline tale, as dark as the canon version if not even more, but with a cautiously hopeful ending that makes it all easier to take. Its only real flaw is that it should have been a 3-parter, as a lot of plot points are compressed into captions, but, in the end, it holds together and it rings true. Highest possible recommendation (and I do believe that Legion World's own Invisible Brainiac recently referred to this story in one of the Spacepoly forum games -- thanks, Ibby!)

AVENGERS 348 (Cover Date June 1992)

I'll admit I have mixed feeling about this issue, but it has nothing to do with the writing. Quite the contrary, I think this is Bob Harras's best Avengers script yet -- the "A-Plot" involves the Vision beginning to rediscover his capacity for feelings and emotions (perhaps his heartless behavior during the Galactic Storm incident unconsciously prompted this,) while the "B-Plot" brings back Proctor and Magdalene and thickens the mystery about them even more (though none of the Avengers actually encounter them face-to-face on this occasion.) No, the problem is that Steve Epting doesn't do the pencil art -- he is spelled by Kirk Jarvinen, who has a clean-lined, almost cartoony style that is not bad in and of itself, but it's totally ill-suited to Harras's writing in general, and this script in particular.

The issue opens with Crystal and Dane (the latter of whom looks like he hasn't seen a razor nor a pair of scissors since returning from outer space) accidentally walking in on Vision while he is using an Encephalo-Helmet (borrowed from Reed Richards) to project a holographic illusion of his old, Pre-Vision Quest self, locked in a passionate embrace with Scarlet Witch. Sadly, he finds that although his old memories are intact, he still feels nothing when he uncovers them; Crystal takes pity on Vision and tells him that she'd be happy to play Agony Aunt for him, the way he did for her back in issue 343; she then excuses herself to go check in on Carol Danvers in the mansion's infirmary. There follows an extremely awkward exchange between Vision and Dane where the latter pretty much reveals that he's falling for Crystal and doesn't want any competition. After Dane walks out in a huff, the Vision makes a delicious quip: "Fascinating." That, of course, was Mr. Spock's catchphrase on Star Trek, and it would seem to confirm that, just like myself, Harras considers Vision to be the Spock of the Avengers.

Enter the ever-overbearing Marilla, who, in Jarvis's abscence, has had to welcome an unexpected guest into the mansion. Said guest has asked to see the Vision. The guest turns out to be Laura Lipton, a young widow who recently made the acquaintance of the Vision (in Avengers Spotlight 40, the final issue of that series.) Laura's father-in-law, an accomplished computer scientist, had "cured" the Vision's faulty reprogramming by providing him the "brain patterns" of his deceased son, Laura's husband Alex.

Cut to a busy pub in NYC's Upper East Side, where Dane is drowning his sorrows and angsting to Hercules about Captain America's indefinite leave of absence from the Avengers. Hercules, ever-upbeat, replies, "The sum of the Avengers has e'er outweighed its parts. That is our strength." (I happen to agree with Herc on this, and I wish more writers and editors at Marvel felt the same way. But I digress.)

Just as Dane is about to fess up about his feelings for Crystal, Herc's eye catches the sight of a strikingly beautiful woman taking her leave of this establishment -- which wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary if she didn't look like MAGADLENE in street clothes!

Back at Avengers Mansion, Crystal confides her worries about Vision to Black Widow and Carol Danvers, only for Carol to reveal that she has the same kind of disconnect as Vision, ever since her fateful confrontation with Rogue. Worried she has opened a can of worms, Crystal apologizes. Widow's response is that there is no apology necessary, and that Crystal should bring Luna to meet Carol. As Crystal goes to do just that, Carol says to Widow, "She's very sweet, but does she have what it takes to be an Avenger?" Widow replies, "Crystal may not be from the old, tough world of espionage like you and I, but Captain America and I have total faith in her." Relieved, Carol answers, "Well, that's good enough for me." Scenes like that are one of the things I most love about the Avengers, and they're harder to write than they might seem. Kudos to Harras.

Vision, meanwhile, proves that he's not as much in touch with his feelings as he -- and the readers, and Laura -- thought. After she tells him that Professor Lipton is dying of cancer, and that it's important that Vision pay his last respects, Vision callously takes a "duty over all" attitude, citing Captain America's aforementioned absence. Laura, understandably, is beside herself, and tearfully scolds the Vision, until Crystal intervenes and convinces the Vision that he's got to go because it's the HUMAN thing to do.

Herc, for his part, is running out of the pub, knocking over Dane and the table that they had been using, in his pursuit of the witchy-looking beauty he believes to be Magdalene. When he catches up with her, making threats of payback for the battle in issue 344, she sasses right back at him, to the effect of, I'm not who you think I am, and you're not my type, so if I happen to look like your ex, that's your problem, not mine, now back off or I'll sue you for sexual harrassment! Dane arrives at that moment and tries to defuse the situation, stammering out an explanation that makes her laugh ("Now I've heard everything") and walk away. Dane then tries to talk tough to Herc, but the ever-impulsive demigod won't back down.

Some time later, Laura and Vision, accompanied by Crystal, have arrived at Laura's coastal property, where her father-in-law is spending his final days in her care. They find the professor watching home videos of Alex on multiple screens. He is overjoyed to see Vision, and makes a request for Vision to step into a device he has built which will temporarily bring out Alex's personality as the dominant one in the Vision's body. And once again, Crystal has to persuade Vision that he has to do what's right.

At that moment, the mystery woman, who goes by the name of Marissa Darrow, arrives at her Manhattan apartment, having chalked up her bizarre encounter to being just another night in New York City. But as soon as she turns on the lights, none other than Proctor and Magdalene are there -- and it turns out she does look exactly like Magdalene! As Proctor makes an omnious pronouncement, Dane and Herc are right outside the apartment door, the former still convinced something is afoot, the latter pooh-poohing his suspicions...until a blood-curdling scream -- in Marrisa's voice -- pierces their ears, followed by a vibe-heavy explosion. Herc smashes down the door to the find the apartment an empty, smoking wreck. Scientist Dane deduces that it was a plasma blast, and that it bears further investigation.

Back at Laura's house, Professor Lipton's experiment appears to be successful, and "Alex" lovingly says goodbye to his adoring father just before the professor takes his final breath. "Alex" then has a brief reunion with Laura, and they embrace and kiss, but then the programming appears to abruptly shift back to the Vision's personality. Nonetheless, Laura gives him a tearful thank you and farewell.

As Vision leaves with Crystal, she questions whether or not Professor Lipton's device actually worked, or if the Vision contrived an elaborate simulation of Alex just to make his loved ones feel better. Vision changes the subject, but we, the readers, see him shedding a single tear.

A beautiful little story, full of heart and humanity, with a generous side portion of soap-opera and extranormal intrigue. Again, kudos to Harras, and I only wish Epting had been able to draw this issue. Thankfully, he'll be back for the next two.

AVENGERS 349 (Cover Date July 1992)

Reviewing this issue is bittersweet for me, knowing as I now do that not only will the subplot Harras seeds in it will remain unresolved when Epting leaves, but also that its eventual resolution will contribute to my decision to stop reading the Avengers with issue 384.

What makes it even more painful is that it's a subplot involving Hercules, a character I love, and the Olympian Gods he is related to -- specifically, his half-brother Ares, God of War, and his stepmother, Hera. To see Epting get a chance to draw Olympus -- even for just a few panels -- makes my heart skip a beat. It's so beautiful, yet so poignant in its ephemerality.

But let's start from the start -- the issue opens with Black Knight taking the Avengers Skycar out for a joyride, with Crystal and Hercules as passengers. Dane just wants to blow off some steam because the last several days have been frustrating. A thorough investigation of the remains of Marissa Darrow's apartment has turned up nothing to clue in the Avengers about her disappearance, or about her resemblance to the team's enemy Magdalene. Now, there's blowing off steam and there's reckless endangerment of yourself and your passengers -- Dane obviously crossed that line long before we came in. Rather predictably, the Skycar begins to malfunction, and the trio of Avengers are only saved by Hercules using his big, tough demigod hands the way cyclists use their feet to stop an out-of-control vehicle.

The background changes to become the Olympian Pool of Revelations. Hera and Ares are doing what Marvel Universe Gods usually did in their classic portrayals, being decadent and petty and vindictive while sniping at each other. Both are annoyed by Hercules and are feeling bored enough and mean enough to place a wager on which one of them can bring Hercules the most sorrow.

Two days later, Dane's inspection of the Skycar reveals that sabotage took place just before his ill-fated joyride. He also suspects a connection between the sabotage and the Swordsman/Magdalene/Marissa mystery; Dane plans to corroborate his theory by comparing the energy signatures from Marissa's apartment to the energy traces on the Skycar.

In strides Hercules, with Crystal and Eric Masterson close behind, to announce to Dane, Vision, and Black Widow that he has been invited to visit a children's hospice to cheer up the patients for a while; Crystal and Eric have agreed to accompany Herc.

Crystal earnestly invites Dane to join them, citing the Knight's friendliness to her baby daughter Luna, but Dane turns down the invite. The reason he gives is that he needs to keep working on the damaged Skycar, but the real reason is that he still feels awkward about his crush on Crystal. Vision also turns down Crystal, saying that he fears his appearance would probably frighten the kids (probably not, but is an ugly look compared to the classic red, green, and yellow.)

Later, at the children's hospital, Herc and Eric are being gracious guests and putting on a show for the kids, while Crystal chats with Taylor Madison, a pretty blonde hospital volunteer who organized this event. Then, Ares and Hera arrive at the hospital, invisible to all present -- including Herc and Eric -- and with evil intent. Ares's plan turns out to involve him possessing Eric and assaulting Hercules relentlessly, in the hopes that Herc will snap and kill Eric in a rage. When one of the kids fails to evacuate the scene because his teddy bear got left behind, Taylor bravely rushes to rescue him, while Hera cryptically gloats to herself that Taylor is now becoming an innocent trapped in the world of the Gods (something which the resolution to this subplot, which I'll get to at the end of this review, will contradict.) Predictably, Ares threatens Taylor and the kid, and Hercules, after tumbling to the fact that his friend has been possessed by Ares, rallies to resume the fight and save the mortals from harm. Crystal, whom Ares had knocked unconscious a short while back, is now recovered and ready to help any way she can. Herc grabs Eric's wrist and begins smashing the Uru hammer on the ground. At Herc's prompting, Crystal adds her own elemental powers to the resulting lightning bolt, which then strikes both Herc and Eric, finally freeing Eric from Ares's possession. Ares, in turn, becomes visible to others, and Hera makes herself visible. Hercules furiously scolds his relations for endangering mortal with their foolish games. Hera merely laughs and teleports herself and Ares back to Olympus. Eric quips, "Sheesh, and I thought I had family problems" while Hercules makes apologies to Taylor, who is as concerned for his well being as she is for everyone else's. In Olympus, Ares grumbles that his plan may have faiiled, but Hera didn't accomplish anything, either. Hera replies that her plan is far more subtle than his, and we the image in the Pool of Revelations confirms that Taylor has something to do with Hera's scheme.

In case anyone does want to see this subplot play itself out beyond the issues I am re-reading, I will put the spoilers in a box:


So, as I said, I like this issue, but it's tainted. I do, however, give Harras the benefit of the doubt that his original plans were far different from, and far better than, what eventually saw print. And, to wrap up this review on a positive note, Epting & Palmer turn in another excellent job on the art. Just look at Crystal's sweet facial expression when she asks Dane to come to the children's hospital with her -- I ask you, how can anybody see her drawn that way and not love her?