Fantastic Four/Avengers: Domination Factor

Collects Fantastic Four #1-4 (Vol. 1, 1999-2000) and Domination Factor: Avengers #1-4 (Vol. 1, 1999-2000).

Writers: Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway

Artists: Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Bob MacLeod, Dennis Janke

My reread of 1990s comics continues with this miniseries. It has eight issues where every other one is an FF issue and every other Avengers. So it’s not really a crossover. This worked surprisingly well and prevented the feel of clutter that most crossovers suffer from. I think this format would be great for more crossovers. The downside is, of course, that the teams don’t interact much. In this case, the teams already know each other quite well, so it wasn’t a loss.

The story starts with FF. Reed and Tony Stark are in Air Force one, returning from an international conference along with the US president. Johnny, Susan, and Ben are providing air security. Good thing, too, because a group of masked men using jetpacks attack the plane. Despite the efforts of the FF (and Iron Man whose identity isn’t known to the FF), the plane takes heavy damage. Only with the combined powers of the FF and Iron Man, it can land mostly in one piece. However, the bad guys aren’t after the president or even the superheroes but something that Norway’s government gave as a gift to the US president: a gold apple.

When the plane tore apart, the apple fell from the plane. Johnny torches it.

The bad guy in question seems to be a dying old lady Ms. Queen who owns a big, if secretive, tech company, Praxis. One of his underlings, Lester, is especially keen on getting his hands on the apple. When Johnny destroys it, Lester claims that not all is lost.

The FF don’t have the chance to examine the plane or the remains of the apple because a huge, wooden creature rises from the river. A battle starts, of course. However, soon they notice that everyone else has been frozen in time. Doctor Strange appears in his astral form and quickly sends our heroes’ astral forms to the past, to retrieve slices of the golden apple so that the world as they know it will be safe.

The Avengers include the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. They’re from Kurt Busiek’s run. The Avengers notice another huge wooden colossus and fight it. However, Doctor Strange appears and sends their spirit selves to the past, in order to find slices of the golden apple before they fall to wrong hands.

This was a fun series. The FF and the Avengers visit moments in their past. They’re all separated and need to work alone. However, by the end of the second issue readers will realize that Strange is acting rather strangely. The story has some of my favorite tropes so I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Of course, it doesn’t affect continuity at all.

Jurgens actually draws the second FF issue imitating Kirby’s style. The FF members inhabit their younger bodies during the Kirby period, so it’s very fitting. Ordway has his distinctive style so he doesn’t try to imitate the previous artists. Cap is thrown to WW II, Tony to a particularly ignoble time in his life, and Wanda to a point when she worked with Magneto. Meanwhile, Thor is a teenager on Asgard. Fun times!

 

Avengers by Jason Aaron vol: 1 The Final Host

Collects Avengers 1-6 (2018). Part of Marvel’s Fresh Start relaunch.

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artists: Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Jay Leisten, Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco

At least in mainstream superhero comics the saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same” is true. And so it is also with the newest Avengers relaunch.

Steve is young again and Cap. Tony is out of his coma and Iron Man again. Thor is… almost back to his old self but without Mjolnir. He does have another hammer, though. They get together in a bar. Steve wants them to reform the Avengers but Tony is against it. However, when dead Celestials (space gods) start falling out of the sky, Tony puts his differences with Steve aside.

Meanwhile, the Black Panther and Doctor Strange are going to the Earth’s core… to find giant insects which have been down there for millions of years but they’re not starting to wake up. They also find symbols, pictures thousands of years old, of people who look like the Avengers.

Jennifer Walters is having trouble controlling her Hulk-side. The Ghost Rider is acting up and his host Robbie is concerned. Captain Marvel and the Alpha Flight station are trying to contain the threat from space but it looks like it’s too much for them.

Finally, we have Odin who tells us the story when he and his buddies got together a million years ago to make a final stand against one Celestial. His group back then looked very familiar and I’d like to read more of them. Except that they’re humans. Who didn’t exist back then.

Basically, it’s a decent end-of-the-world plot that brings a group of bickering superbeings together. I don’t really understand why Ghost Rider had to be here, though. I also didn’t care for the change in Jennifer. I really hope Aaron resolves her issues; she’s clearly here as a substitute Hulk and not as herself. Also, Carol acted really strange. Maybe she has some guilt issues, but she shouldn’t take them out on her (future) teammates. Loki (or rather some other being who looks like Loki) is teaming up with the Celestials against humanity. (After reading Loki Agent of Asgard… this isn’t the same person. Clearly, it’s an evil twin from an alternative reality.)

For some reason, the team doesn’t gel together for me at all. They don’t feel like family, in fact they don’t even like each other.

Interestingly, this story changes the origin of the superbeings on Earth. We’ve known for a long time that Celestials messed with humans back in the dawn of humanity which created the Eternals and Inhumans. Apparently this was true only from a certain point of view. Or it depends on who you believe. Personally, I also find it fascinating that this story also changes people from “created” beings (by cosmic beings but still) to “accidents” or even “unwanted accidents”. That’s a pretty interesting shift for the Marvel universe.

Also, Eternals are now dead?? I thought their movie is soon coming out?? Seems like a very strange move… unless they’re returned to life at some later date. Maybe a whole story arc about bringing them back?

This was a rocky start for the relaunch. I hope Aaron finds his feet with the team.

 

Siege

Collecting the Siege prologue, Siege: The Cabal, Siege #1-4, and Avengers: The Way Things Are.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Lucio Parrillo, Olivier Coipel, Mark Morales, Jim Cheung

This is what the Norman Osborn Avengers were headed towards: the final confrontation between them and the real Avengers. Let’s face it, we all knew that it would end like this.

Asgard has fallen to Earth and Osborn is increasingly paranoid about it. The cabal of supervillains he has gathered isn’t helping his paranoia. Rather, Loki is feeding it. After the Cabal has a falling out, Osborn contacts the President (of USA) and just tells him that Asgard is a security risk and must be destroyed. The President forbids him but Osborn leads his faux-Avengers, H. A. M. M. E. R. and the initiative against Asgard’s forces, anyway. They beat down Thor first on live TV. Of course, Cap and his allies come to battle it out.

Osborn’s biggest gun is the Sentry who shows his real dark side. Ares even turns against Osborn but Osborn commands Sentry to kill Ares. A few other characters are killed, too, but I’m not sure if any of them stay dead. Loki, at least, is back.

This is the end of Marvel’s grimmer age. The next stage is Heroic Age where the Avengers (and other teams) are reborn as more heroic characters. I’m not a fan of grim heroes and liked the lighter Heroic Age more.

The final story in this trade is set before the Siege. In it, ice giant Ymir had beaten Thor and New York is in danger of being buried under snow, in May. Spider-Man calls in the real Avengers but Osborn’s Avengers also show up. They and the real Avengers must team up to retrieve the Twilight Sword from the ice giants.

The Siege event itself doesn’t introduce the characters at all; the assumption is that the reader has been following the storyline and so knows at least most of them. But the final story somewhat introduces the central characters and the conflict between them so it was strange to but it at the back.

While the event has a lot of characters, it focuses on Osborn and to some extent Steve Rogers, which makes it clearer than many other events. Especially if you read the last story first, so that you get to know (or are reminded of) the characters a little first.

Overall, this was a good ending to the conflict with a hopeful future for the heroes.

 

Uncanny Avengers vol. 1: Counter-evolutionary

Collects Uncanny Avengers 1-5. (Vol. 2)

Writers: Rick Remender, Gerry Duggan
Artist: Daniel Acuna

I’ve read more than my share of really strange comics but in the superhero world this one is pretty weird. Although, not in the 60s Superman/Batman weird, but modern weird.
I’ve read the previous volume of Uncanny Avengers (through Marvel Unlimited) and quite liked them. This one feels like it starts in the middle of a story but it’s not the Axis story where the previous volume of UA ended. And this volume ends in Secret Wars so perhaps the ending was quite rushed.

Wand and Pietro (Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver) have learned previously (from where and whom? I’ve no idea. If it was from a bad guy, why would they believe a single word?) that they’re not actually the children of Magneto or even mutants. They travel to Counter-Earth and to the High Evolutionary to get answers (why? Again, I’ve no idea). Counter-Earth is another Earth built by High Evolutionary directedly behind the sun from the Earth. There he’s been able to experiment to his cold little heart’s content, creating generations of New Men (from animals) and apparently destroying them when they prove to be imperfect by having emotions. Wanda and Pietro are caught but end up in the hands of Low Evolutionary, High Evolutionary’s son, and the leader of the rebels.

Meanwhile, Rogue leads a small group of Avengers after the twins. Captain America (Sam), the Vision, and Doctor Voodoo along with Sabretooth find out where the twins have gone, and Doctor Voodoo does a spell to transport them to C-E. But the spell is disrupted and the group is separated from each other. Rogue is captured by a sadistic scientist and Sam is captured by strange plant people. Meanwhile, the Vision ends up in the company of a female android Eve and they, well, have sex and make children. Doctor Voodoo is in the company of the millions of souls High Evolutionary had killed and they want revenge.

Apparently, Wanda and Pietro’s background was retconned (again) which isn’t too strange anymore, but the Vision having (artificial and really fast growing) children and then abandoning them to their mother felt really weird. And it was claimed that he fell in love with this new Eve android and yet was able to blithely abandon her. As was Sam turning briefly to a tree creature and then back to a human.

On the bright side, I liked the art and Pietro got some much-needed character development. Also, Sabretooth as a good guy is a very interesting idea and here he worked well. I also love the idea of Counter-Earth; that’s always fun to see.

 

Avengers: The Bride of Ultron

Collects issues 158-167 of Avengers vol. 1.

Writers: Jim Shooter,
Artists: Sal Buscema, Pablo Marcos, George Perez, John Byrne, G. Tuska
Publisher: Marvel

These are Jim Shooter’s old Avengers tales, first published in 1977. The longest story arch lasts for three issues but there are subplots which are present in most issues, namely the Beast feeling superfluous in a team which has many stronger characters, like Thor, Vision, and Wonder Man, as well as all-around geniuses like Tony Stark and Hank Pym. Also Wonder Man constantly doubts himself and Hawkeye is helping Two-Gun Kid to adjust to the 1970s. The Kid comes from 1873.

The core team consists of Iron Man, Wonder Man, the Beast, Vision, Captain America, and Scarlet Witch, but other members come and go, as well.

The collection starts with the Vision attacking Wonder Man in a rage of jealousy. Strangely enough, the Vision constantly calls himself an emotionless machine but when he sees Wonder Man aiding Wanda, when she’s dizzy after a battle, the Vision attacks. Iron Man interferes to stop the fight. This issue also introduces a very powerful new foe, Graviton, who imprisons the core team plus the Wasp and Yellowjacket. It takes Thor and the Black Panther to free the others and defeat Graviton.

The characters don’t really have any breathers. Only hours after defeating Graviton, the Grim Reaper returns. He wants to know if Wonder Man or the Vision is the real Simon Williams, the Grim Reaper’s brother. Then Ant Man attacks with his army of ants which are too quick for even Iron Man to evade. The Wasp returns and explains that Hank has lost his memory and soon Ultron tricks Hank into helping him transfer Janet’s mind to a woman made of metal.

The Avengers also face the Lethal Legion and Graviton again. In the final issue, they inspect a huge space constructs which is heading towards S.H.I.E.L.D.’s orbiting space station. The collection ends is a cliffhanger leading to the Korvac saga.

Even though the issues have a lot of battles and excitement, there are also long plotlines brewing. In addition to the three I mentioned above, there’s a mysterious old man who thinks he’s Wanda and Pietro’s father. Currently, the twins think that the old hero Whizzer is their father and that their last name is Frank. Also, Iron Man and Thor have their own adventures in their own magazines so they’re away a lot. Since Iron Man is supposed to be the leader Cap and even Wanda tell him to do a better job. Also, Iron Man’s identity is secret; not even the other Avengers know that he’s Tony, so it’s difficult for him to explain his absences.

Many issues which originated here have longer ramifications. Hank Pym’s phycological problems for example and the Vision/Wonder Man rivalry and brotherhood lasted for a long time).

On the other hand, Shooter seems to rely on Thor coming in at the nick of time to save the others so many times, that even the characters comment on it and he devoloped a mysterious force which whisked Thor away and back to the Avengers when they most needed him. While the Wasp and Wanda are pretty underused, only Wasp is kidnapped once; and the whole team is beaten a couple of times. Also, only two issues actually have Ultron…

Still, it’s a fun read and a blast from the 70s.

 

Uncanny Avengers Vol. 1: The Red Shadow

Collects Uncanny Avengers #1-5

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: John Cassaday

After the events of Avengers vs X-Men, Captain America finally acknowledges that the Avengers haven’t done enough to help mutants. In order to help them now, he gathers an Avengers team from both mutants and Avengers. He also appoints Havok as the team leader. They’re thrown into a difficult situation right from the start: Avalanche attacks a group of humans and trashes several city blocks.

Meanwhile, Xavier’s grave is opened and his body is stolen. Rogue and the Scarlet Witch try to defend the body but unsuccessfully; instead they are kidnapped. Rogue loathes Wanda because of the things Wanda has done to the mutants but Wanda shields Rogue during the attack and is wounded. The attackers are a new group of villains under the leadership of Red Skull who has a pretty frightening new power. (I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read it.) The rest of the team (Cap, Thor, Havok, and Wolverine) are trying to calm down humans who are attacking mutants on the streets. A villain called Honest John seems to be causing this with his propaganda powers.

Red Skull’s S-Men were a bit cheesy start for the series and it seemed to me that Wanda confessed that she was actually thinking of joining Red Skull’s group! This was really disappointing! Otherwise, I think that it’s good that the Avengers have finally woken up to the difficulties mutants have and are actively trying to help them. The story references both Nazis and the Days of the Future Past comic in the X-Men, even having that iconic poster of the terminated heroes behind two fugitives, only this time the hunted ones are Havok and Wanda.

The final issue in the collection is a start to the next storyline. Twins are born and they’re called Apocalypse Twins. Both Kang and Immortus are involved. Meanwhile, back in the Avengers Mansion, Wonder Man, Wasp, and Sunfire are the newest members. Since Wonder Man doesn’t fight anymore, he’s in mostly for PR. But during a press conference, the Grim Reaper attacks. The Reaper claims that he can’t die but Rogue absorbs his powers and seems to kill him.

I’m a sucker for a good Kang story and I have high hopes for this storyline. Both Simon and Sunfire seem to have been through a lot of traumatic events which brings conflict into the team. Loved the early glimpse to (alternative?) future at the end of issue 4. Havok was great at the press conference; he took off his mask and told everyone his real name – then again he doesn’t have a secret identity as such.

Overall, I enjoyed this new team and I’m looking forward to that Kang story.

 

Avengers Forever by Busiek, Stern, and Pacheco

Collects issues 1-12 of the Avengers Forever series.

Writers: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Artist: Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino
Publisher: Marvel

Rick Jones is critically ill and the Avengers travel to the Moon to get help from the Kree Supreme Intelligence. The Intelligence agrees to help him. For Rick and seven Avengers picked from different places in the Avengers time line, this is the start of an awesome adventure through time and different realities, and through Avengers’ history.

The seven Avengers are: the Wasp and the Giant-Man from the then current Avengers continuity: the Wasp is the leader of the group and takes command naturally. Three from the past: Hawkeye from the time just after the Kree-Skrull war and Yellowjacket at the eve of his and Janet’s wedding, when he is out of his mind. A super-strong Captain America who has just witnessed his beloved government at its lowest point and is demoralized. And two from the future who hadn’t joined the Avengers yet: Songbird the former criminal and a bitter Captain Marvel, the son of the original. The latter two are pretty much unknowns and Yellowjacket brings in a lot of conflict, so the team is quite interesting to follow and not too united.

Circumstances force the team to ally themselves with their old enemy: Kang the Conqueror who is searching for a way to avoid becoming Immortus, whom Kang despises. During their travels, the Avengers witness how, and eventually why, Immortus has manipulated the team pretty much from the start. Busiek and Stern explain the various inconsistencies in some of the team history, including the origin of the Vision and the various versions of Kang, and my hat is off to them for even attempting it.

This is aimed at the team’s old fans who know the back story and have read it, and those of us who love alternate histories and futures. I really enjoyed this one and it’s probably my favorite Busiek Avengers story. Kang is one of my favorites and here he gets a whole issue to himself to clear up his history and to see things from his perspective. The collection even has a handy guide at the back: a list of comics from where all the references are from.

Definitely not the place to start reading Avengers!

 

Avengers: Under Siege

Collects Avengers vol. 1 270-271, 273-277

Writer: Roger Stern
Artists: John Buscema, Tom Palmer

A large gang of villains band together under the leadership of Baron Zemo to humiliate and utterly defeat the Avengers. And looks like they are going to do it!

However, the collection starts with a different tone with people demonstrating against Namor joining the team. Some people remember when he led his Atlantean army against humans while to others he’s still a hero from WW II. But Namor has to leave in the second issue and doesn’t come back, so that subplot is left open.

Baron Zemo recruits a lot of villains who want to wipe the floor with the Avengers: Mr Hyde, Titania, the Absorbing Man, the Fixer, Yellowjacket, Moonstone, Blackout, Wrecker and his crew. However, from the start Moonstone is challenging Zemo’s leadership and throughout the story Zemo has to be paranoid about his own crew. Most of the other villains are interested in just physical battle, though.

The Avengers have quite a smaller line-up: the Wasp, as team leader, the Black Knight, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and Hercules. Namor leaves in the second issue and a couple of reservists join later. Marvel is obviously the most powerful Avenger and Zemo has plans to neutralize her. She also explores her powers and we see her traveling to the Moon in just a few minutes. Apparently, there’s a romantic triangle between the Wasp and the Black Knight, and a new character, a mercenary called the Paladin. Zemo is able to use that to his advantage. Also, Hercules resents the Wasp’s leadership so the Avengers bicker as much as ever. This time, the Wasp is a decisive leader which is a huge change to her small role in the Kree-Skrull War trade.

The story itself is pretty basic without any extra hooks or depth. However, the pacing is good and it’s entertaining.

This is a good trade for new readers because it doesn’t rely on previous stories. Of course, the characters are different from the movie.

The Finnish edition (which came out a couple of months ago in hard cover) has also issue 272 where Namor asks the Avenger’s help to free Marrina who is being held hostage by Atlantis’ current ruler, the ruthless Attuma. The Avengers of course want to help him but they are worried that Namor will use them as a way to get back his throne. However, once they free Marrina, both Namor and Marrina swim away and aren’t seen in this collection again.

 

Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War

Collects Avengers vol. 1 #89 – 97 (June 1971 – March 1972).

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artists: Sal Buscema, Neal Adams, Tom Palmer, John Buscema

This classic Avengers story has several story lines and is a clear inspiration to Busiek’s work. In addition to being a super hero adventure ins space, it’s a commentary on the Cold War.

The story starts with the Kree warrior Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell. The Avengers (the Vision, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch) are trying to capture him and succeed. He has a link to Rick Jones who is a young rocker kid here. They can change places so that the other is in the Negative Zone while the other is on Earth. Rick has concentrated on his coming career and left Mar-Vell to the Zone. Not surprising, Mar-Vell is unhappy about it and finds a way to return through the Fantastic Four’s Negative Zone device. However, because of his long stay on the Zone, he’s suffering from Nega radiation poisoning. The Avengers and Rick capture him and try to treat him.

Meanwhile, in the Kree home world, Ronan the Accuser is after his hated enemy Mar-Vell. Ronan usurped the leadership of the mighty star spanning empire, the Kree. He activates a Sentry robot on Earth. It captures Mar-Vell and bring him to the Kree base on Alaska. The Avengers, with Goliath, the Wasp, and the Yellowjacket, follow the Sentry there and battle it. However, the battle is near US science station and even though the three scientist at first agree to keep silent about the matter, they end up telling to the media that hostile aliens are on Earth. This starts a witch hunt spearheaded by Senator H. Warren Craddock. He even unleashes Mandroids against the Avengers because the heroes refuse to give up Captain Marvel. The Avengers stand by their friends and don’t give in to threats.

Much of the action is on Earth against various enemies until the last two issues. However, pretty early on, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are kidnapped and taken to the Skrull throneworld, so they are out of the action for most of the story. Later, the Avengers travel to the Kree home world and confront the Kree Intelligence Supreme.

Unfortunately, the writing shows its time. At the start of the story there are two active women Avengers, the Scarlet Witch and the Wasp, who, alas, aren’t very effective members. They tend to state the obvious and play peace maker. Even though they need to be protected in battle, they are often captured and used as hostages or bait for the other heroes. In the second issue Yellowjacket has disappeared and all the Wasp can do, is tearfully beg for Goliath to come rescue him. When the Yellowjacket retires from the team, the Wasp immediately does the same. This story also introduces the Vision/Scarlet Witch romance. However, later both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are kidnapped by the Skrulls and used as hostages. The Wasp retires in the third and Wanda is soon kidnapped so for most of the story the Avengers have an all male (and white except for the red skinned android) team: the Vision, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and Goliath.

Quicksilver shows appalling sexism by telling Wanda “it ill becomes you to flaunt your carefully acquired colloquialism at your male betters”. And a couple of pages later he tells the Vision not to insult his sister!

However, the story introduces Carol Danvers as the head of security at Cape Canaveral. Nobody questions her right for the job and she’s a very no-nonsense woman. But she’s seen only briefly.

The other signs of the times is the pretty pompous dialog and the chatty narrator.

If you can stomach the sexism, this is great early super hero adventure.

 

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

Collects Avengers vol. 3 #41–55 (Vol. 1 #456–470), and Annual 2001
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artists: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer (issues 41-43), Manuel Garcia and Bob Layton (issues 44-47), Kieron Dwyer and Rick Remender (issues 48-55), and Patrick Zircher and Scott Koblish (issue 55).

The final Busiek run! He goes out with a bang.
I consider this one of the best Avengers space adventures and also one of the best Kang adventures ever. As a time traveler, Kang is notoriously hard to write but Busiek manages.

Kang and his son the Scarlet Centurion have been watching Avengers for a some issues now and in issue 41 they finally attack from their sword shaped space station the Damocles Base.

In the next issue Kang shows the Avengers various futures where Earth’s fate is bleak: humanity will fall from various attacks. Kang offers to save the Earth from all of them – after he has conquered the whole planet, of course. Earth, in the person of UN’s Secretary-General, refuses. However, Kang has a ploy up his sleeve; he has broad casted an offer to everyone: anyone who will help subdue Earth will have a place in Kang’s new order. Not surprising, various groups take up on that offer. Avengers and various governments are plagued by attacks ranging from supervillains to the Deviants. The stage is set for multi-issue story lines.

Issue 41, “High Ground”, sets up several subplots: Hank (who is still the fake Hank) suffers from sudden seizures and a small group of Avengers (Thor, Cap, the Black Knight, Firebird, and the Quicksilver) head out to Siberia to investigate alarming reports of high radiation levels. Meanwhile Wanda and Simon are taking a small vacation and Simon tells that he’s heading out to L.A. Wanda doesn’t want to leave her position as the deputy leader of the Avengers and so they depart. It’s not hard for either of them even though earlier they were professing love stronger that death. Also, in the middle of fighting the Avengers in front of the UN building, the Scarlet Centurion feels powerfully attracted to Warbird. All of these will have consequences in coming issues.

Then the Avengers start the fight in several fronts and a lot of reserve Avengers are called in.

In addition to Kang and his army, the Avengers have to deal with the Presence and his “mate” Starlight who are turning people into radioactive zombies, a surge of various groups who want to get to Kang’s good side, the Triune Understanding’s endgame, and the Master of the World. So their hands are more than full.

The Triune Understanding is waiting for a Triple Evil to come from space and they have built a space ship to fight against it. We get to finally know the whole story behind Triune’s leader Tremont and the whole movement. Triathlon’s connection to the 3D-Man is also revealed. I thought the storyline was ended well here.

Yet, Busiek has time to do characters stories, as well. Thor loses his temper big time when he sees that Captain America has become one of the radioactive zombies and only Starlight’s interference stops Thor from killing the Presence right there. Later, Thor realizes that he’s become too close to the mortal Avengers and wants to leave when the Kang situation is under control. However, Firebird had once again inexplicably survived damage that should have killed her and Thor remarks that she might be immortal, too. Firebird wants to convince Thor to stay on the team and says that the fleeting relationship are all the more precious because we know that some day they will be gone.

Carol gets a lot of screen time. The Scarlet Centurion is apparently attracted to her and Carol suspects from the start that he’s Marcus; the man who mind controlled her to leave the Avengers and did some pretty hideous things to her. One of the issues (47) is dedicated to telling us the Scarlet Centurion’s back story and circumstances force Carol and the Centurion to work together. Carol remains suspicions of him the whole time. Later, she also kills a villain in desperation and demands that she be court-martialed over it.

Issue 49 is written without any dialog. Considering that the issue has a crucial turning point to the story, it works amazingly well.

The last issue is dedicated to the aftermath and we find out about a surprising casualty.

I thought this was a very good story with several story lines. Considering how much is going on, it’s perhaps a bit surprising but this is probably the best album for new readers to get. There’s not much back story about the members to know about, and Carol’s and Marcus’ history is retold.