A Sunday post! Feels like it's been a while since we've had one, but since it's the 23rd, we'll continue our streak of Avengers #23's going--with an asterisk. Despite having a solid batch of the run, my local comic shop did not have Marvel Triple Action #17, nor the original, which would doubtless have been a bit rich for my blood. Luckily, we have a budget-conscious alternative! Reprinted in Essential Avengers #1,1965's Avengers #23, "Once an Avenger..." Written by Stan Lee, pencils by Don Heck, inks by John Romita.

This was the "Cap's Kooky Quartet" phase of the team, with Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch; half of whom couldn't stand the other half at any given time. To wit, after the events of the previous issue, Cap had just quit; either because he felt he failed as their leader, or he was sick of those jerks. Hawkeye and Quicksilver keep the sniping going, and I'm just surprised they aren't full-on accusing each other of driving Cap away; while Wanda has a bit of a crush on him and misses watching him workout already. Meanwhile, it appears to have taken Steve Rogers about 30 seconds to get to upstate New York and get a job 'training' boxers, by which I mean thumping them somewhat mercilessly. Well, they were probably the 'learn by doing' types, so okay. Also meanwhile or wherever he is in time, Kang was plotting against the remnants of the Avengers, at their lowest ebb. Step one: add another level to their house. Yeah, that'll teach 'em. Actually, it might: Kang's ship, disguised to the outside world as another story of the mansion, is full of traps and easily defeats the three, who maybe are all missing Cap now.

Kang returns with his captives to his future, and has a gruff meeting with "puppet ruler" Ravonna. So far she seems to hate Kang's guts, considering him a mere "commoner," despite the fact that Kang did have a pretty legit army then. Back at the training camp, the news of the Avengers' capture makes the news, and Steve punches out the current champ so he can take off. Back in the future, the Avengers are trapped in clear cells, but the Scarlet Witch manages to shatter hers, although it takes all her hex juice and she was "vulnerable" and dizzy now, which definitely feels like that's because she's the girl. Realizing they're not on their home turf, the Avengers try to fight it out, despite being swarmed by Kang's guards and gizmos. Kang is perhaps even impressed, since this team didn't have anywhere near the power of the old roster, but was still giving it a go. Hit by strength-sapping beams, only Quicksilver escapes; but Kang is interrupted by a message from the past: Cap has used a "recreater" device of Iron Man's, to see that Kang had taken the team, and now was calling him out.

With Ravonna in his control room, Kang has to play the big man, and opts to bring Cap to the future to show he didn't fear him. To give Cap a chance, Ravonna changes where he would land: Kang knows what she's doing, but goes with it. Quicksilver finds Cap, and together they storm through the guards, to face Kang himself; largely as Kang intended. He's showing off for Ravonna and her royal court, trying to neg her into marriage; and if that didn't work, his army would come down on her kingdom like a ton of bricks. Ravonna has a bit of an aside, that she might have been into Kang maybe, if he'd not tried to impress her with conquering? Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch rejoin the fight, as Kang signals his army to attack... 

OK, let's set the wayback machine and confirm something: Ravonna appeared--sort of, in a corpse-like state--in 1969's Avengers #71, which was reprinted in Marvel Super Action #32, which I've mentioned was one of my first Avengers comics. MSA #32 would've been on stands late March/early April 1981; the other earliest Avengers I read was #211, which was from June '81! So, now I know which was first.

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That seemed like a lot of shiny at the time, too.

Even though I have a copy next to me, we saw Avengers #366 some time back. Fortunately, we have another shiny cover to go to: from 1993, Avengers #369, "Bloodties, finale: Of Kith and Kin" Written by Bob Harras, pencils by Steve Epting and Jan Duursema, inks by Tom Palmer.

Exodus kills Fabian Cortez, to avenge his murder of Magneto, but doesn't return Magneto's granddaughter Luna to her parents Quicksilver and Crystal. The Avengers and X-Men, having fought earlier in the crossover, team up now, and receive a summons from Professor X. They're able to stop the Genoshan Magistrates, but then have to face Exodus: the Professor describes him as a "boy...seeking to fill the boots of a giant," but don't make excuses for him; I'm pretty sure he was older than that, which was part of why Black Knight seems to recognize Exodus but can't place him. (They had met when the Knight was living back during the Crusades.) Exodus worshipped Magneto, but sees Luna--a powerless human--as a throwback and maybe as a betrayal. The Knight and the Professor stop Exodus, and the Professor makes a speech to the warring factions of Genosha. Still, Exodus gets in a parting shot, zapping Quicksilver. He nearly dies, but the Black Knight manages to save him, which seems to end his relationship with Crystal, as he tells her "that's what friends are for!"

The immediate crisis was over in Genosha, but as Captain America and Professor X consider the situation, Genoshan mutate Jenny Ransome gives the Professor an earful, suggesting it was hypocritical for him to hide his mutant status from the world. Cap defends him a bit, but the Professor has to admit, she might be right. 

I did stop to look up: that 'death' didn't keep Fabian Cortez down for long. He would be back about the same time the "Joseph" version of Magneto turned up. I was going to say, even though I ordered one, I can't believe there's going to be a Fabian Cortez Marvel Legends, but it's currently mis-labeled as Husk now! But it also appeared to have, maybe some new shoulder pads and a new head; much less of an undertaking than an Exodus figure would be.

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I'm mildly surprised I don't have more of a soft-spot for the Inhumans, since they appeared in some of the first instances of continuity I noticed in the Marvel U: from 1984, Avengers Annual #12, "Moonrise" Written by Bill Mantlo, breakdowns by Butch Guice, finishes by Rick Magyar. City on the moon--how did it get there? The Avengers are called in front of the National Security Council, who are giving the Fantastic Four the stinkeye, for helping the Inhumans move their city Attilan to the moon; in Fantastic Four #240, one of the first regular issues I read of that book! While the FF vouches for the Inhumans, the government is not trying to hear that. It's mildly surprising they aren't more pissed, but this was before every little thing would be justified by yelling "national security." Couple other things: I don't know when they lost it--maybe the Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. series--but I miss the old, boxy S.H.I.E.L.D. space platform; which lost Attilan's flight over Africa, possibly over Wakanda. Reed recaps the Inhumans history, and explains how they were being poisoned by man's pollution, then offers to go to the moon to open up formal diplomatic relations; but since this is their comic, duh, that's gonna be the Avengers' job.

It's a pretty solid roster, and Cap and Wanda are pretty happy to see Quicksilver, whose wife Crystal had recently given birth to Luna. While the Inhumans' royals are a bit weird, everyone's getting along well, although there's a weird side trip to pay respects to Black Bolt's brother, Maximus--usually known as "the Mad"--in state, in a glass coffin. Maximus had betrayed the Inhumans to the Enclave--the scientists that built Adam Warlock! Then he turned on them, but was killed driving them off. But Lockjaw, sniffing the coffin, notices "an impossible scent," and later Medusa confides in Wanda that Black Bolt had been inexplicably distant of late...Later that night, "Black Bolt" visits "Maximus," and speaks!

Cap gets a message from S.H.I.E.L.D. that someone is launching moon rocks at earth, and Thor has to fly into action to stop them. Tensions rise, until Black Bolt signals attack; which the Inhumans go along with, since he was the king, right? Quicksilver sides with them, attacking Captain Marvel; the Avengers make a pretty poor showing until Cap starts to turn the tide, by finally getting his shield out of Lockjaw's bite! A steamed She-Hulk was about to pop Black Bolt one: this was early in her career, and she impulsively forgot, if Black Bolt spoke, he could probably blow a good chunk off the moon. So it's surprising when instead, he whines at her: of course, he was really Maximus. Lockjaw leads the heroes to free Black Bolt, who remains silent, so it's hard to tell how pissed he was; and Black Bolt quickly takes down the Enclave and the Alpha Primitives they were using as slaves. (They were slaves: the Alpha Primitives really drive a stake through the heart of any likeability the Inhumans have.) The Inhumans promise peaceful relations in the future; and lived fairly quietly on the moon for at least a decade or two thereafter? I feel like the next time I would see them in a comic would be New Warriors #6 in 1990, but that can't be right...

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I think I've realized, and then forgotten, that the High Evolutionary is gonna be in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, like more than once. Partly because I don't think they went with the magenta-tinted outfit and headgear, and partly because traditionally H.E. wasn't tied to Rocket Raccoon's origin. But, it makes sense, and I'm always willing to give them some rope and see where they go with it. Still, it's as good an excuse as any to flip through a random High Evolutionary appearance, isn't it? From 1994, Avengers #380, "Errand of Mercy" Written by Bob Harras, pencils by Mike Deodato Jr, inks and colors by Tom Palmer.

Near scenic Mount Wundagore in the Balkans, Quicksilver and Crystal visit the ailing--and possibly dying--Bova. The evolved cow-woman was the closest thing to a mother Pietro had in his life, and he's genuinely distraught at the thought of losing her. So, he's more than willing to jump at the chance to get the High Evolutionary to save her; which is a bit of a jump: there were lights on the mountain again, which doesn't necessarily mean he could save her. On their way up the mountain, though, they meet someone else: an Acolyte of Magneto, albeit one that's been cast out. He had been visiting the shrine to Magneto's first wife; but leaves when the New Men confront them. (The Acolyte adds literally nothing to the story, but they were the thing at the time.)

Meanwhile, subplots! Hercules keeps working on Taylor Madison, who likes him back but claims she can't get involved with him right now. She also gets a new roommate, who's pretty obviously a supervillain: you have to check those references! Captain America's health was failing, from events in his own book; but he hasn't let Black Widow or the Vision in on his condition yet, even though they've noticed. Crystal and Pietro get into the required scuffle with the New Men, with Pietro losing his temper when Crystal gets hurt; but he's no match for the High Evolutionary, who seems pretty impressive for the whole page he's in this comic. Bova's caretaker/companion Fydor watches the lightshow on the mountain, sinisterly; while in a final subplot, young Luna is put to bed by her Inhuman nanny, but was the only one to see the Black Knight appear in a mirror, and plead for help...Fydor is really well rendered, early on and at the end, which absolutely sells him as shifty.

Weirdly, this was also available as "Marvel Double Feature," with a George Perez written Giant-Man story. But, we've got the bare-bones version here, I guess. Also, this kinda sorta ties into current events in Roy Thomas's Thor; but that wasn't a high-water mark for the book, sorry.

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"The End" Week: Marvel Super Action #37!

You might feel, the last issue of a reprint title? Who cares? But for a lot of years, these were the only way to read these stories without tracking down expensive back issues; and some of my first Avengers reads were from this series: from 1981, Marvel Super Action #37, reprinting 1970's Avengers #76, "The Blaze of Battle... the Flames of Love!" Written by Roy Thomas, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Tom Palmer.

This was the second part of the first appearance of Arkon the Imperion, who by this point had kidnapped a bunch of nuclear scientists and the Scarlet Witch, in an effort to destroy earth to recharge the energy rings that gave heat and light to his world, Polemachus. It would set the pattern for most of his later appearances: even with the best of intentions, Arkon always chooses the most violent way available to do something, and usually tries to kidnap a babe while he's there. The Avengers are trying to use a "d-machine" to travel to Polemachus after him, but haven't licked their power source problem yet; much to the irritation of Quicksilver, who wants his sister back. And because things weren't melodramatic enough, the Black Widow returns, but only to break up with Goliath, tearfully telling him she never loved him. 

Arkon intends on keeping the Scarlet Witch as his bride, and uses "the Ultimate Persuader!" to suck nuclear secrets out of one of the scientists, which cows the others. They make what looks like an atomic superball for him, that when thrown at the right spot on earth, will destroy it but keep the lights on in Polemachus for centuries. Arkon lies to Wanda, telling her the scientists figured out how to not blow up earth, but she still had to stay. Picking a flower, Wanda admits she could almost be attracted to Arkon, if he wasn't so cold and unfeeling. (And smelly. There has to be an almost-visible musk cloud following that guy around.) But no time for love, as the Avengers arrive! With Thor's help, they had been able to get there; either with or without the d-machine. Arkon's barbarian army is no match for an A-list Avengers team that was fighting mad, but his vizier advises, lose the battle but win the war: blow up earth, that'll learn 'em. Wanda realizes Arkon had lied to her, but gets dragged with him as he uses his golden thunderbolts to travel to the Empire State Building. 

Thor was able to get four Avengers back to earth quickly: Goliath, Black Panther, Vision, and Quicksilver. And they make a fairly poor showing, stopped one-by-one; with Arkon finally getting Goliath in a brutal judo-like hold. But, before Goliath is forced to tap out, the vizier sends a floating-head message: no need to blow up earth after all. Thor and Iron Man were able to recharge Polemachus's rings--at least for now! Arkon confesses to the Scarlet Witch, the trips back-and-forth from earth and Polemachus should have restored her mutant powers, so he couldn't force her to marry him, and he disappears as the other Avengers return. Still, with a flower as a keepsake, Wanda seems to ponder what could have been. 

Arkon is such a dick; I can't stand him. So of course I'd love a Marvel Legend of him!

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This feels like a court-ordered appearance, he probably has to do one every couple of years.

His sister has fallen into this same cycle: a writer takes them too far, then the next writer has to walk whatever horribleness they committed back, or at least try for some forgiveness. Pietro probably should have more one-shots under his belt, then. From 2008, X-Factor: the Quick and the Dead #1, "The Quick and the Dead" Written by Peter David, art by Pablo Raimondi.

It's rock-bottom time for Pietro, as he's lost his mutant powers as well as his Terrigen crystal-derived ones--is that a bit of a retcon, because wasn't Terrigen bad for mutants later? The recap page also seems to put House of M on him, which I had forgotten; but after that, Son of M, and Silent War he had burned a lot of bridges. The final straw was catching a beating from X-Factor's Layla Miller, leaving him in jail and twitching through what might be Terrigen withdrawal. (I haven't seen how he used the crystal, but from here I could make a guess...)

Two small-time criminals watch as Pietro hallucinates a little redemption trip, with visits from the Scarlet Witch, Magneto, Crystal, and Luna--all of whom seem to forgive him and want the best for him. They also appear slightly out-of-date, which seems to me how Pietro remembers them. I'm not 100% sure anyone has actually forgiven him anything, either. His final ghost visit is Layla Miller, who is unbothered about his attempt on her life: his heart wasn't really in it, and now that he's hit bottom, he can start coming back up. She advises him to "follow the butterfly" and he does, seeing a domestic violence incident on a nearby rooftop, with a man about to throw a woman over the side. Since no one there is about to listen to him, it's up to Pietro, and his powers return, first using super-speed to shake the wall down, then racing over to save the falling woman.

His speed seemingly greater than ever, Pietro is moving so fast it's crushing the woman, so he drops her off: in Montauk Point, a couple hours away from Manhattan. Tear-assing around the world, running across water, Quicksilver contemplates his folly, thinking he knew God's will, but in his high spirits accidentally overshoots off a mountaintop! Glancing off a passing plane, he takes a pretty big fall, skipping across the water this time, then sinking. While now at peace, knowing he was loved, Pietro isn't done just yet, as he's fished out by a passing cruise ship. A sailor promises "clear sailing from here on in" and Pietro can only hope so. 

I thought this was maybe to bring Pietro closer to his MCU incarnation, since the last page seems to resemble Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but this issue predated either of his movie versions. (Duhr, there's an ad for the first Iron Man on the back!) Has Quicksilver since crapped all over this redemption? Sadly, that would be in-character as hell...

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I'm blogging this one 'cause I think I've bought it twice, but still a good lesson.

From 2013, Avengers Assemble Annual #1, "Company Man" Written by Christos Gage, art by Tomm Coker.

The "company man" of the title is sporadic Iron Man antagonist Sunturion, a loyal Roxxon employee turned into living energy, who had toed the company line for many years even though I'm pretty sure they had betrayed him multiple times up to this point. Today, having been told his energy form was losing cohesion and he was dying, he starts a rampage to wipe Roxxon off the map. (Iron Man guesses saving Sunturion wasn't "cost effective," and he's hit the nail on the head there.)

But the Vision is, in his own way, as much a company man as Sunturion; and tries to get that across to him. Vision is working through a lot himself: his false sons seemingly returned as the Young Avengers Wiccan and Speed; and what could be PTSD after his 'death' in Avengers Disassembled. Although he manages to convince Sunturion to "come in" and let the Avengers help him; it doesn't last, and Sunturion attacks a Roxxon faculty in the middle of putting volunteers through the same process that gave him powers--even though it would kill them as well. Vision captures the microwave-based Sunturion in his solar jewel, but mad that Roxxon could continue without so much as a slap on the wrist, he disintegrates the machinery they were using. Then the equation changes: if they can't make new Sunturions, suddenly it's cost-effective to save the old one. Iron Man is outraged, but Sunturion goes back to Roxxon! After all, it's as much as the only home he has.

After the mission, Vision resigns from the team, wanting to take some time for himself, a life outside the Avengers. Somewhat heartwarmingly, his former brother-in-law, Quicksilver, offers his help; even though he had zinged him more than once this issue. (Seriously, Pietro only has a couple lines this one, but they are savage.) And Vision visits Wiccan, so you can see he's on the right track.

Searching the GCD for Sunturion, there were slightly more appearances for him than I had thought: Iron Man #143 and Annual #9 are the two I remember. He's far more powerful than Iron Man--possibly more in line with the Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel. Which is why I think he might not appear that often; since his powers seem tough to nail down. But his corporate loyalty...man, today it reminds me of fans who are just rabid about the subject of their devotion, even though it owes them nothing in turn.
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Well, I had the previous issue, then didn't recall reading it; pretty sure I had this issue too, but yeah. From 1992, Avengers #351, "Retribution" Written by Bob Harras, pencils by Kevin West, inks by Bud LaRosa.

Continuing from the prior issue, Raza of the Starjammers has apparently fatally stabbed the Black Knight, in retaliation for the Knight's slaying of the Kree's Supreme Intelligence, and to get the whereabouts of the son taken from him years ago. Hercules is about to put Raza's head through a wall to avenge his teammate, but Ch'od stands by his teammate and fights his way out with Raza. The Starjammers' leader Corsair has no idea what's happening, but Hepzibah, wanting the Kree's bounty on the Knight's head, clams up.

With the Starjammers' medic Sikowsky and an Inhuman doctor working on him, the Black Knight's condition is updated from "dead" to "mostly okay," partially because the wounds didn't seem like Raza really wanted the Knight dead. (Sure, he stabbed him, but his heart wasn't really in it!) With Binary, the Avengers catch up to Ch'od and Raza; with Thor being dismayed at having to hurt Ch'od, since he was a likable guy. Raza tells Binary about his missing son, but she explains the medallion the Kree gave him wasn't his son's, but a Kree memory implant device. Or, at least that's the story she's going to give the Avengers: it's a lie, but Carol felt Raza wasn't responsible for the suffering he had endured, or the Kree exploiting it. Meanwhile, Hebzibah seems more than willing to sell out and poison the Knight, but doesn't get the chance. As the Starjammers go back into space, Raza knows he'll have to live with the guilt, the hope of finding his son, and the knowledge that Hebzibah may not be a good person...

A couple other subplots show up here: instead of rejoining the Starjammers in space, Carol opts to stay on earth and reintroduce herself to her family. It would be about six years until she would rejoin the Avengers. Crystal is distraught over the Knight's injuries; and while Pietro was nice enough to get medical help for him, he doesn't seem super worried about him. I'm not sure how estranged Crystal and Pietro were at this point, or if Pietro realized Crystal and Dane had been crushing on each other; but over the years Pietro and Dane really start to hate each other. The Vision, still white and emotionless, has a disturbing emotional reaction: rage. Raza warns the Knight that the Kree weren't going to stop coming after him, although I'm not sure it came up much after that, or if Raza ever found his son.
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I can't help but notice Pietro isn't racing to help Dane.

I know I had this issue when it came out, but I can't remember if either I didn't read the conclusion, or if it wasn't very satisfying. Still, today we've got 1992's Avengers #350, "Repercussions" Written by Bob Harras, pencils by Steve Epting, inks by Tom Palmer.

After the Operation: Galactic Storm crossover--OK, I have to take a second here: so that crossover took its name from 1991's Operation Desert Storm, and I'm hoping Marvel doesn't go back to current events for their crossover titles, since I really don't want to see one about fake news or Benghazi or something. Anyway, at the conclusion of that crossover, a splinter group of Avengers killed the Kree's Supreme Intelligence, for its role in the war that cost billions of lives. Some of the Kree were still steamed about that, even if they were in no position to seek revenge. So a former Kree general sees about hiring out the Starjammers! Or at least half of them, Raza and Hepzibah. Hepzibah is more than willing to take two million credits for the death of the Black Knight; but Raza takes a bit more persuading: the Kree offer the whereabouts of his missing son.

Meanwhile, on earth, Professor X and Cyclops were having a conference with the Avengers, regarding the Acolytes: with Magneto believed dead at the time, it was feared they may see his grandaughter Luna an embarrassment, since she was human. Though their relationship had been through ups and downs, her parents Crystal and Quicksilver were united in doing whatever was necessary to protect her. Also at this meeting: former Avenger and former Starjammer (and future Captain Marvel) Carol Danvers, then going by the name Binary. They find the Starjammers' surprise visit a pleasant surprise, although Cyclops has to take his dad Corsair aside to talk "about Maddie and Nathan," which should take them out of the story for about three days.

For his part, Black Knight Dane Whitman was being a broody grump; since he had feelings for Crystal and would've been just fine if her marriage fell apart. He also was having a lot of guilt over the Supreme Intelligence's death, but none of that stops Sersi from making a pass at him. A rather serious pass: she was usually flirty and flighty, but this would start a triangle that would go on for years. Oops, that's a spoiler, especially since Raza seems to have murdered Dane here, and now Hercules was going to avenge his teammate!

Also this issue: a forgettable short with Luna's Inhuman nanny, Marilla (who would be straight-up murdered by Iron Man in the Crossing) and a reprint of Avengers #53, "In Battle Joined" Written by Roy Thomas, pencils by John Buscema, inks by George Tuska. I'm having trouble picturing a time when Strawberry Alarm Clock was a timely cultural reference.
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The Terminus Factor: Avengers West Coast Annual #5!

From Avengers West Coast Annual #5, "When Titans Trash!" (They really should've gone with the cover's title, "War of the Gargantuas!") Written by Roy and Dann Thomas, pencils by James Fry, inks by Keith Williams. The issue starts without a lot of urgency, as Dr. Pym revives the android Human Torch. Recently, the Vision had been revealed as not a refurbished Torch, but a separate android. The Torch does have to ask how long he's been down, since his previous record was 35 years. Meanwhile, Hercules watches Terminus and the now-giant Termini battle in downtown San Francisco: the fight has moved since the prior issue, which could be justified by their giant size; but Herc's outfit has also changed. It's a better outfit, so we'll allow it.

As the "Terminus Twins" talk smack and hammer each other, the Avengers West Coast, including Iron Man and Machine Man, arrive. Pym has a plan involving a pair of huge lenses, momentarily blinding them, then sending them chasing after-images. Hercules tries to smash the Termini as he did the Deviant-piloted impostor, but it doesn't work; neither does the Wasp's attempt to do damage from within. Both giants mostly ignore the Avengers, as they return to their battle. The Termini, seemingly defeated, shrinks and is eaten by Terminus, who then levels up to a four-armed, even bigger version...to be seen in the conclusion in Avengers Annual #19!


Even without a lot of page-time, Thomas gives as many characters as he can a moment of characterization: Pym quietly leads the team, USAgent is a "brave blowhard," Hawkeye writes a check his butt can't cash, and Quicksilver is smug as hell but rather deservedly so. I like Fry's art--he had a run on DC's Star Trek book that I quite enjoyed. This is another fun chapter, even if our heroes don't get to accomplish a lot. And the backups this issue are possibly the best of the lot, including "Don't You Daaare Miss it!" and "Honey, I Shrunk the Hyperatomic Anti-Proton Cannon!" (The latter having James Fry art as well!)

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"The End" Week: Iron Man #332!

Previously, over the last however long it's been, we've checked out a few of Marvel's last issues from before the Lee/Liefeld Heroes Reborn relaunch, and they weren't terrible: Tom DeFalco ended his long run with Fantastic Four #416 and a big goodbye to every FF character that would fit, even wedged into the Onslaught crossover. William Messner-Loebs hadn't put in as much time with Thor, but Thor #502 does much the same. More firmly in the crossover storyline, Mark Waid didn't get to dig into Avengers history in Avengers #402, but it has it's moments, and underlines how well he could write Cap.

Then there's today's book: Iron Man #332, "Night Neverending" Written by Terry Kavanagh, pencils by Joe Bennett, inks by Mark McKenna and Tim Dzon. It's not just part of the Onslaught crossover--no, wait: it is just part of the Onslaught crossover. Tony, Giant-Man, Black Panther, and Quicksilver try to make their way through the Onslaught-controlled Sentinels; so they can whip up some psychic-shield headgear for the heroes. And...that's about it. It's a little slight.

This was less than a year after the Crossing, and this was Teen Iron Man. I don't believe it was catching on, as it were. That may account for not getting into Tony's history, since it was currently just wrecked. If you were to scale some sort of Retcon Outrage Meter, with events like Spider-Man erasing his marriage or Batman wetting himself on the high end; generally ignoring Tony's second teens would be in the negative numbers. I couldn't tell you if Marvel heard a peep of complaint there.

Sigh. Well, maybe next year we'll get to Captain America #454...
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"A League of their Own"

I am so sorry about that title, but it works. Click to enlarge, and more pages after the break!


This strip fell into place since I was trying to come up with a Nova-centric story...and failing miserably. Even with Essential Nova next to me, and a passing familiarity with the character from New Warriors and his later solo book, I had no idea what his current characterization was. I believe his initial personality was supposed to be an inversion of the Peter Parker formula, so Rich was a jock; the somewhat rarely found in fiction jock-that's-not-also-a-bully. (Which made Rich's Flash Thompson analog a nerd, who would attack Rich with brutal, hurtful, words.)

I also recall Nova was after Namorita back in the day, but he seemed like a bit of a hound anyway. And...that was it. Look, I was more of a Quasar fan, all right? And Quasar would've worked better for what I had wanted to do; some Green Lantern Corps fun. Nova and Hal Jordan are slightly too similiar for my original idea, but then I thought, if Nova is a Green Lantern analog...

There were a couple episodes of Justice League Unlimited, ("The Terror Beyond" and "Wake the Dead") where a very Defenders-like batch of characters appears: Hawkgirl, Dr. Fate, Amazo, Aquaman, and Solomon Grundy. And I thought, well, could I put together an analog Justice League? (The Squadron Supreme wouldn't work, they're getting action figures never and ever.) If I come up with something else for this group, I'll come back to it.


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When Bad Ideas Clash!

Not Quicksilver or the Black Knight, specifically, but what's the baddest bad idea on this page?

A. Pietro thinking he can take Dane, after a couple of sword-fighting lessons, and without using his speed?

B. Dane, for thinking fighting his way past Pietro is going to be the way to win back Crystal? (Actually, did Dane ever get that far? I think Sersi blocked him a lot.)

C. Crystal, for thinking she could ever talk anything through with either of those two?

D. Marvel, for thinking Quicksilver could carry his own book?

Well, probably Marvel there, but it wasn't a terrible book. And I like the idea of Pietro and Dane being respected, well-known super-heroes, Avengers of distinction and bravery, who will absolutely try to kill one another if put in the same room for five minutes.

Crystal (and Pietro's sister, the Scarlet Witch) returned from their stretch on the Heroes Reborn world, and to her credit tried to give time to her husband and daughter, but the Black Knight kept pushing to see her, even after the Lady of the Lake advised him to quit it. Even though his charges, the Knights of Wundagore, were currently missing (and captured) Pietro tried to stick with Crystal, which admittedly wasn't going great before Dane showed up. Pietro gives Dane the bum's rush at superspeed, so Dane smashes through a window with his winged horse; and before you can say "domestic disturbance" it's go time!

Since he foolishly tries to fight probably the best swordsman in the world on even terms, Quicksilver doesn't do very well. Although, Dane does clock him one in the face with his shield: strictly speaking, that didn't strike me as chivalrous, since Pietro didn't have one of his own. Regardless of the outcome, Crystal is pretty pissed at both of them, even before the fight wakes up Luna. By the way, how is Luna older than Franklin Richards now? Anyway, Crystal tells both men she loves them, but takes Luna and returns to her family in New Attilan. Don't feel bad, guys: it's not like you lost her to Johnny Storm...or the Sentry...or Ronan the friggin' Accuser...

I'd have to look it up, but I think Crystal had just as long of a tenure in the Avengers as Sersi; but neither is the top of anyone's list of favorites, are they?

From Quicksilver #7, "I Love You, Goodbye" Written by John Ostrander and Joe Edkin, pencils by Ivan Reis, inks by Randy Emberlin. I know Quicksilver and the Black Knight would meet again not too much later in a crossover with Heroes for Hire, but I don't know if they ever buried the hatchet. I kinda prefer to think they didn't...

(Out of office yesterday, but it turned out pretty well. Anyway, I had this one prepped for just such an occasion!)


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