Web of Spider-Man 64 - Acts of Vengeance

Three months after the conclusion of "Acts of Vengeance" came this issue of Web of Spider-Man with "Acts of Vengeance is Back!" on the cover. This issue and the next provide a further epilogue to the series. The story sees the Chameleon arrange the release of several of the villains Spider-Man defeated in the saga and then offers them $500,000 between them to kill Spider-Man.

Web of Spider-Man #64

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Alex Saviuk
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It's yet another throwback to the Silver Age where numerous villains sought to defeat Spider-Man in order to cement their position as the leading crime lord in the city. This time the Chameleon isn't bothering with trying to do it personally but has instead made an offer to a group of foes with mixed powers who all want revenge now that Spider-Man no longer has his powers. The villains are a motley group - Titania, Graviton, Goliath, the Brothers Grimm and Paste Pot Pete the Trapster - but they prove sufficiently willing to work together for a mutual goal, given leadership and incentive. It stands in stark contrast to the squabbling committee of the leading super-villains during the crossover.

As Peter Parker, Spider-Man is facing further problems as Nick Katzenberg, the sleazy rival photographer at the Daily Bugle, produces photos showing Peter dressed as Spider-Man for a shoot, leading to editor Joe "Robbie" Robertson sacking him with a rant about journalistic ethics, perhaps because of his own lingering guilt at having failed to report Tombstone in his youth that recently put him in jail. It's often been speculated that Robbie has deduced Spider-Man's identity but keeps it to himself, but his reaction here, even disagreeing with J. Jonah Jameson who is willing to overlook it all as it isn't a news photo, suggests otherwise. Peter storms off and has an angry confrontation with Katzenberg before storming off.

The later battle shows some repeat tricks, with Graviton once again lifting up the Daily Bugle building, but also the need for better leadership in the field as Spidey manages to trick the Brothers Grimm and the Trapster into taking each other out, but Graviton's powers proved rather harder to defeat with strategy.

This is an odd issue. After such a long crossover there wasn't really a crying need for yet more "Acts of Vengeance" issues. These also came out in the run-up to a major story in Amazing Spider-Man entitled "Return of the Sinister Six", reuniting more conventional Spider-Man foes so yet another story involving a group of villains teaming up feels repetitive even if it did manage to come out first. Nor does it present much of a lesson in how teams of villains can work effectively, since Spider-Man is able to play off the limitations and lack of expectations. This is just another demonstration of the problems of having three monthly titles for one character without distinctive purposes, leading to a speedy rehash of recent events.

Web of Spider-Man #64 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)

Damage Control 4 - Acts of Vengeance

And so we come to "The Final Act!" as Damage Control's second limited series comes to a conclusion, with this issue featuring a prominent guest star in Nick Fury, Agent of Shield. Fury's own series was up and running at this time but notably didn't take part in the crossover, with a change of writer around this time possibly the explanation. But instead Fury and his fellow agents get used here in a showdown for the corporate wranglings that have crippled the special repair business.

Damage Control (volume 2) #4

Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Penciler: Ernie Colon
Inkers: Stan Drake & Marie Severin
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colour: George Roussos
Editor: Sid Jacobson
Big Guy you don't wanna mess with: Tom DeFalco

The issue is surprisingly predictive in its revelation that Damage Control is being run into the ground by its now owner, who "is willing to gut the whole company to raise cash". Damage Control may at times allow for subtle digs at the distinguished competition, but this target would ultimately prove closer to home given the convoluted corporate manoeuvres in the 1990s that ultimately left Marvel as a whole filing for bankruptcy. Fortunately for anyone without a business education the story presents the financial situation in a sufficiently simple form to understand how the owner wound up owing the Kingpin a lot of money and had to resort to bleeding the company to death.

Elsewhere the workers are still on strike but are talked into helping stabilise a building whilst a rescue operation is carried out, reflecting the very real dilemmas often faced by striking firefighters. Placards with slogans such as "DC is grossly unfair" and "DC stinks" are surprising in that Marvel could print these and get away with them (and not have to modify the artwork for later reprints). It's not clear who exactly is responsible for them, but a glance at the credit lists for the creative shows that only some of them went on to do much work for DC comics. Perhaps the scene at the end when the Damage Control building, with a prominent "DC" marked out on the roof, is sold to a comic company who "made a great deal of extra money this summer from a movie" helped placate feelings. Meanwhile over in another DC, Anne Hoag ensures that Commission on Superhuman Activities doesn't deliver a unanimous report in favour of registration.

Steadily the management rebuild relationships and reputations, helped by Fury, and Shield leads a takeover bid. Here comes perhaps the most dated joke as a subordinate Shield agent produces a briefing on computer that will take three hours to deliver, until Fury demands a one-word recommendation on whether to buy. This predated the arrival of Power Point and the computers of the era were not the best things for presentations. Robin Chapel faces down the Kingpin to make it clear he's no more influence in the firm, something he just doesn't mind as the "Acts of Vengeance" have proved quite profitable. Finally we learn that Damage Control has now completed the clean-up after the Acts.

This is a bit of a rush around issue aiming to tie up all the threads raised by the earlier ones and wisely sets itself at the end of the crossover to allow for a clear conclusion. Still it provides a good comedic take on corporate rescue packages and company chaos and gets extra credit for doing this long before Marvel faced its own problems. This is a fun little epilogue.

Damage Control (volume 2) #3 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Damage Control: The Complete Collection (2015)

Amazing Spider-Man 329 - Acts of Vengeance

It seems slightly surprising that the story of Spider-Man's cosmic powers has just run over the end of "Acts of Vengeance", especially as this arc has had a few too many chapters. It would have made more sense to follow the structure of "Inferno" and limit the main multi-part storyline to a handful of issues with others doing their own thing on the side, rather than padding things out so much and then needing an extra issue.

Amazing Spider-Man #329

Writer: David Michelinie
Penciler: Erik Larsen
Inker: Andy Mushynsky
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Still this final part does a lot to wrap things up, including a climax on the power stakes. Both Graviton and Sebastian Shaw are continuing to pursue Spider-Man, but the former is put off with a single blast. The latter is more cunning, opting to investigate just how Spider-Man got his powers and locating the scientist who was doing energy experiments at the time. From a modern perspective it's surprising that Shaw is able to blackmail Dr Lubisch by threatening to reveal to the board of Empire State University the details of how Lubisch was sacked from Heidelberg after performing a "rather unorthodox experiment". It seems strange that basic background checks were not performed, especially as by 1989 communication was already sufficiently advanced that universities would be able to contact one another quickly. Still it works that Shaw would turn to the same scientist to produce an "energy negator" to try to cancel out Spider-Man's powers - and that it instead cancels the block in the original transfer that led to Spider-Man acquiring them only slowly.

For Spider-Man has the powers of Captain Universe and now adopts the traditional look, albeit with a red webbed mouth mask. The Enigma force has detected great danger to humanity and empowered Spider-Man to defeat it, though why the powers to him so early is unclear, though Lubisch's experiments are the cause of the delay in fully adoption. One could also wonder if the danger was just the Tri-Sentinel (as Spider-Man's newfound cosmic awareness implies) or the "Acts of Vengeance" as a whole. The robotic menace turns out to be an after-effect of the Acts as Loki, looking rather freer than he was at the end of the final battle, opts to make a final mark on Earth by merging three prototype new Sentinels together. Given the steady step up in power levels of the foes encountered through this arc, a super robot enhanced by the magic of a deity makes sense as the ultimate threat level. And the Tri-Sentinel also evokes one of the classic Silver Age images, Spider-Man with six arms which was the very final panel of Stan Lee's original hundred issue run.

Three is a recurring theme in the issue, with the opening scene introducing the Sentinels set three days ago, Shaw blackmailing Lubisch three hours ago and Loki working his magic three minutes ago. The merged Tri-Sentinel has three faces, making it impossible to sneak up on, though Loki doesn't seem to have thought to reverse one set of arms for fighting in both directions. There's also a fusion to the logic circuits, so Shaw is unable to trigger a failsafe that would make the Sentinel turn in on itself. Instead it's down to Spider-Man to finish the task he received the powers for. Then the power departs, leaving Peter wondering if he could have done more with it to improve the world, a thought that we'll come back to.

At first glance, cosmic powers and Spider-Man are not a natural combination. But this storyline has taken the core philosophical line of the character - "with great power there must also come -- great responsibility" - and asked what happens when greatER power comes? As a one-off event it's been an excellent way to explore the character. The storyline may have had a few too many issues but the finale works in providing a clear explanation for the situation, delivering an ultimate threat and handling the foes who weren't previously captured. The art effectively captures Spider-Man's moves and the sheer scale of the Tri-Sentinel, making for a strong finish.

Amazing Spider-Man #329 has been reprinted in:

• Spider-Man: The Cosmic Adventures (1993)
• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Cosmic Adventures (2013)

Avengers Spotlight 29 - Acts of Vengeance

A handful of issues are explicit epilogues to "Acts of Vengeance" and this starts with Avengers Spotlight #29. As ever this issue contains two separate stories.

Avengers Spotlight #29

Plot/Script: Howard Mackie (first)
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie (second
Plot/Pencils: James Brock (first)
Penciler: Dwayne Turner (second)
Inks: Roy Richardson (first)
Inker: Chris Ivy (second)
Letters: Jack Morelli (first)
Letters: Rick Parker (second)
Colourist: Mike Rockwitz (all)
Editor: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Editor: Gregory Wight (second only)
Boss: Tom DeFalco (all)

The first story, written by Howard Mackie and drawn by James Brock, doesn't make any attempt to tie in with the crossover just gone but does continue with the theme of heroes battling others' villains, with Hawkeye called in to rescue Madcap from kidnappers even though everyone from Dollar Bill (the film-maker who used to hang around with the Defenders; now Madcap's television partner) through to the kidnappers is seeking Daredevil. Nevertheless Hawkeye tracks down the somewhat operation and clashes with a new set of henchmen, the Power Tools who have mechanical hands that turn into weapons based on home equipment. Madcap himself is a somewhat anarchic youth with an incredibly powerful healing factor and his own sardonic take on the pointlessness of life; he predated Deadpool by several years. The story's okay, and does manage to pull a sucker-punch with the revelation of the Power Tools' boss not being the character one instinctively expects, but Madcap is a difficult character to write because of the attitude and healing factor and this results in moments that don't know if they're trying to shock or are expecting familiarity.

The second strip is the final of "Tales from the Vault", written by Dwayne McDuffie and drawn by Dwayne Turner, and sees a lot of captured villains being brought to the restored prison whilst Iron Man introduces the new Guardsmen armour with design safeguards to protect his technology from being used elsewhere. However the solution of limiting the internal power supply and instead building an external supply system into the Vault doesn't sound like the most secure of systems as one could easily capture a suit of armour and provide an alternate power supply. The returning foes include the Wizard, who finds his teleportation has been tampered with to send him back, and Klaw. Iron Man and one of the Guardsmen have to take them on, demonstrating both the abilities of the new armour and the determination of the men inside. The last few panels use exactly the same narrative captions as the opening of the first part back in Avengers Spotlight #26 to provide a clear sense of closure to the story. For the Avengers titles it is, but some of the other series have some mopping up to complete.

The first story isn't part of the crossover and doesn't try to be, but does sensibly go for a self-contained tale that doesn't rely on reader knowledge so isn't going to be impenetrable to readers arriving just because of the crossover banner. The second wraps up some of the points from earlier issues, showing Iron Man making amends on his actions in the "Armour Wars", and through use of the Guardsmen it manages to feel at home in this series rather than in Iron Man's own title. It's not an essential epilogue but it does manage to provide a good sense of closure to the overall story.

Avengers Spotlight #29 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)

Avengers West Coast 55 - Acts of Vengeance

"Acts of Vengeance" is concluded, officially at least, in this issue. It's been quite a journey, and there are a number of aftermaths to come, but for now we reach the showdown with the mastermind of the piece.

Avengers West Coast #55

Written and pencilled: John Byrne
Inked by: Paul Ryan
Coloured by: Bob Sharen
Lettered: Bill Oakley
Edited by: Howard Mackie
Ed.-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

But one thing that immediately leaps out is just how little of the issue is devoted to ending the crossover. Of the 22 pages, ten are given over to advancing other plots in the series involving either the Scarlet Witch's continued troubles or Immortus's mission to eliminate alternate timelines. As a result the issue ends on a cliffhanger involving the former. Collected editions were only just getting going back in the late 1980s so it's probable that the idea of "writing for the trade" simply didn't exist then, but it has been a notable feature of a lot of Byrne's later work for Marvel that it hasn't been the best for collecting, either not having neat cut-off points at the end of issues or using difficult story structures such as leaping from a cliffhanger against one foe to starting against another and filling in the gap in a flashback or even telling a story in reverse chronological order. Of course here one could make the point that crossover and subplots are handled on separate pages, and so the contemporary practice of excising repetitive or extraneous material could have allowed for a coherent trade, but in modern form it feels awkward. However the subplots do mean we get to see Abraham Lincoln star in the story, a rather unexpected guest appearance. And the Scarlet Witch storyline involves Magneto, thus building on his role in the crossover, so there is a natural flow in the narrative. Still it does suggest the main event has somewhat run out of steam.

Meanwhile the Avengers finally learn the truth of who's behind the attacks whilst their prisoner, the Wizard, escapes with a teleportation device hidden under his fingernail. It's an amazing piece of miniaturisation that seems fantastic but it's a technology that goes back to the early Silver Age including the very first Hulk adventure. But his return to the committee room infuriates the mysterious stranger as it's allowed the Avengers to trace them. And the stranger now reveals himself as Loki, shocking most of the villains and prompting the Kingpin to slip away.

The Avengers come for a showdown as we discover the committee room was based on the Isle of Silence, though the dialogue here suggests the name is metaphorical. It makes sense that the villain who inadvertently caused the Avengers to be formed in the first place would try to destroy them and that he's doing so from a realm where his powers are enhanced, making him a match for the ad hoc combined team of nine who arrive. The line-up has most of the biggest names on the team such as Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Wasp, Hank Pym, Hawkeye and the Vision plus Mockingbird who co-founded the west coast team and the Falcon. It feels quite an appropriate line-up for a sequel to the very first adventure. And it's also appropriate that it's Thor rather than Captain America who gets to make the grand speech at the end of the battle.

However we don't get a grand all-out attack on the Avengers by the combined forces of the super-villains and their henchmen. This annoys Loki as well as his plans have descended into a quagmire of egos, but reflects some of the general problems with the crossover best saved for an overview conclusion.

As a final chapter issue, this frankly feels lacking. It's really only half an issue devoted to the conclusion and doesn't feel sufficiently grand. The remaining super-villains all retreat with the Red Skull's suggestion they take the opportunity to strike quickly dismissed. This issue really should have been completely devoted to the conclusion and it suffers as a result.

Avengers West Coast #55 has been reprinted in:

• Avengers West Coast: Darker Than Scarlet (2008)
• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Avengers West Coast: Darker then Scarlet (Panini pocketbook, 2015)
• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

Silver Surfer 33 - Acts of Idiocy

And now we come to another parody as the Silver Surfer encounters the Impossible Man...

Silver Surfer #33

Jim Valentino: wrote it without a care
Ron Lim: Artist extraordinaire
Tom Christopher: Inker beyond compare
Ken Bruzenak: Lettered it in his lair
Tom Vincent: Colourist with flair
Craig Anderson: Edited it in his underwear
Tom DeFalco: All he could do was stare!

The whole thrust of the 1987 Silver Surfer series was that the character belonged out among the stars, not confined to Earth. Additionally "Acts of Vengeance" came at a slightly difficult period creatively as Steve Englehart was wrapping up his run and fighting off editorial interference then came a couple of fill-in issues before the arrival of Jim Starlin with #34 who immediately kicked off the saga that would lead to Infinity Gauntlet (and the film Avengers: Infinity War). Putting the Surfer into Earth-based crossovers had already created awkward chapters in the annuals that had to contrive ways to get him back to (or at least near) the planet. Having such a powerful being lured to Earth by the alliance of super-villains just to target him would make little sense. So it's unsurprising that he was left out of it all and instead had a parody of the concept as the sole chapter of "Acts of Idiocy".

It's a straightforward issue. In it the Silver Surfer literally bumps into the Impossible Man and has to endure the latter's silliness, then deal with a fleet from an alien planet whose monarch has been insulted and wants redress. Impossible Man stories are often more about the character's wackiness and the frustration of those who have to endure him, than heavy in-depth plots. It's also quite a visual parade with the Shapeshifter taking on numerous forms ranging from Howard the Duck to Galactus to Forbush Man to Spider-Ham to it-looks-like-Superman-but-due-to-copyright-it-isn't to the Yellow Kid to Marilyn Monroe and many, many more. The Surfer is traditionally quite a noble serious character and so must be even more frustrated by this than most, yet can't let the Impossible Man be killed.

This issue may be an event driven fill-in but it's a reminder that the series as a whole went through periods when it seemed to be more about Marvel's outer space population as a whole with the Surfer at times a mere guide to everything rather than the driving force of the stories. Still here that comes with the territory.

Doing an in-universe parody of the crossover event rather than contorting to fit a deep space set series into an Earth based series is a wonderful solution to the problem. The Impossible Man is a particular taste, so this issue stands or falls depending on one's liking of him but it's quite a good portrayal of the character and he went on to encounter the Surfer a few more times, one of the more enduring relationships to have come out of the event. This is a good humorous issue of the series and a fun parody of the concept.

Silver Surfer #33 has been reprinted in:

• Impossible Man (2011)

X-Factor 50 - Acts of Vengeance

A simple glance at the cover shows the struggling demands, with banners for both "Acts of Vengeance" and the conclusion of "Judgement War" trying to fit into the top right-hand corner. Being a double-sized anniversary issue the prospect of having to give it over to a line-wide crossover must have irked even more than most. And so this issue is divided into two stories covering the two demands.

X-Factor #50

Writer: Louise Simonson (all)
Penciler: Rich Buckler (main)
Penciler: Terry Shoemaker (back-up)
Inker: Allen Milgom (main)
Inker: Hilary Barta (back-up)
Letterer: Joe Rosen (main)
Letterer: Michael Heisler (back-up)
Colourist: Tom Vincent (all)
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The lead story sees the conclusion of X-Factor's adventures on an alien world full of mutants as they seek to free themselves before the Celestials destroy the planet, eventually coming to unite the planet's different factions. The story is very much a metaphor for the team's aims on Earth as they inspire others to rise up and work together. It's also the conclusion of some long running threads in the series, in particular Marvel Girl struggling from having absorbed the personality and memories of Madelyne Pryor and in turn Phoenix. This is one of the least explained elements so for new readers dipping in it becomes a confusing struggle. It seems clear that this story was written under the assumption that issue #49 would also carry an "Acts of Vengeance" banner and thus that issue would serve as the introduction for readers arriving via the crossover, whereas here everything gets on with the action. Read in isolation this tale offers classic new reader confusion.

The back-up story is a six-page piece "Meanwhile on Earth" as Apocalypse confronts the mysterious strange who soon reveals himself as Loki. This issue officially came out the same day as Thor #413 and so in theory this would not have broken the secret. However big crossovers have a frustrating habit of shipping out of order, made worse by the higher demand sometimes making it harder to find regular issues. And there's nothing in either of the two issues explicitly stating which way round they should be read. (It's a problem repeated by some of the attempts to create a general Marvel chronology that have found the off-Earth epics in both X-Factor and New Mutants to be significant problems for the chronologies of both "Acts of Vengeance" and "Atlantis Attacks" in the 1989 annuals and wind up having to put this issue right near the start.) It's also a surprise that Loki so willingly reveals his identity, shocked that Apocalypse hasn't worked it out. Notably Loki is depicted here in the costume introduced by Simonson's husband Walter during his run on Thor, whereas the main chapters of the crossover opt for his classic Silver Age look, again emphasising the disjointed nature of the story. Both this and the revelation feel like more failures of co-ordination and communication. The rest of the story is predominantly a fight in both physical and verbal form as Loki and Apocalypse trade blows and arguments about why the "Acts of Vengeance" are failing, the nature of humans and of being worshipped, until Caliban intervenes and then Apocalypse demonstrates the Celestial technology under his control. Loki some storms off in a huff.

Overall this issue is trying its best with demands that are clearly irritating the writer. It may not do a good job at explaining the ongoing storyline to new readers drawn in by the crossover banner, but given how well the previous issue did that one must assume that it was meant to have the banner as well. And although the "Acts of Vengeance" demands clearly irritate Simonson to the point of having the book's lead villain drive Loki out of the issue, it's done in a reasonably solid way. But given when this issue was published it was a very dubious idea to use Loki's real identity as it could have wound up as a spoiler. Overall this back-up is an okay little sideshow, but the lead story isn't really of interest on its own.

X-Factor #50 has been reprinted in:

• Essential X-Factor volume 3 (2009)
• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011 - second story only)

X-Factor 49 - Acts of Vengeance

This issue doesn't carry an "Acts of Vengeance" banner but does contain a couple of pages that touch on the crossover. Otherwise it's a chapter of an ongoing storyline with the regular characters off world. Perhaps some other issues might have taken a similar approach. Oddly two of the worst offenders have the same writer and editor.

X-Factor #49

Writer: Louise Simonson
Layouts: Paul Smith
Finishes: Allen Milgom
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colourist: Tom Vincent
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This issue is faced with the difficulty that it's not possible to have the heroes take part in the crossover because of where the regular storyline has taken them. Nor is there a regular member or associate left behind on Earth who can carry the show. So instead the task of participating in the event falls to the book's main villain, Apocalypse, as he monitors the situation and finds the central alliance bizarre. His comments are telling:

Most of these evil masterminds would not, of their own wills, associate with each other. They behave oddly, so much out of character -- in some cases as to be baffling. Someone else is behind this conspiracy. Someone whose motives are quixotic and strange... but whose will... and powers... are overwhelmingly strong.

It's hard to disguise the author's commentary on the situation, pointing out the plot holes in the centre of the story and, perhaps, criticising the mastermind behind it in real life as well as the one in fiction. "Acts of Vengeance" created more problems for both X-Factor and New Mutants than for most titles and Simonson's irritation at what was no doubt a compulsory participation (whereas it seems to have been voluntary to take part in "Inferno", for which Simonson wrote the majority of the core titles) is understandable. The arrival of the mysterious stranger with an offer to join the alliance suggests further discussion on the subject.

Otherwise the issue is the penultimate part of "Judgement War" in which X-Factor have been transported to a planet with a technologically advanced but culturally mediaeval society. In this chapter a brainwashed Iceman has to fight Archangel in the arena as part of the power struggles, whilst the Beast and Cyclops work with rebels to free their friends. It's amazing to realise this issue is by the same writer as New Mutants #84. Both are the penultimate parts of long running sagas with the team away from Earth and both have just two pages taking part in "Acts of Vengeance", although New Mutants is the only one to include a banner on the cover. But whereas that issue is an impenetrable mess for new readers brought in by the crossover, this one is careful to introduce the characters and situation through narrative captions to make it clear just what's going on. It's almost a pity it doesn't have the banner, because this is how to make the best of such a situation.

This is a series that's firmly sticking to doing its own thing and bluntly saying so. However it's also doing it in a way that any extra readers brought in by the broader event are catered for. The Apocalypse scenes are good in themselves but the issue as a whole isn't that essential to the crossover, but does get credit for doing the best it can to meet the conflicting needs of the varied readership.

X-Factor #49 has been reprinted in:

• Essential X-Factor volume 3 (2009)
• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011 - just the Apocalypse pages)

Thor 413 - Acts of Vengeance

This issue may not carry an "Acts of Vengeance" banner, yet it includes one the key moments for the entire arc. It's a surprising omission, especially given the issue is written by the-then editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.

Thor #413

Words & Plot: Tom DeFalco (all)
Pictures & Plot: Ron Frenz (lead)
Finished Art: Joe Sinnott (lead)
Pencils: Ron Lim (back-up)
Inks: Mike De Carlo (back-up)
Lettering: Michael Heisler (all)
Colouring: Nel Yomtov (all)
Editing: Ralph Macchio (all)

Once again, the issue follows the two-story format, with the back-up feature concluding Beta Ray Bill's encounter with space pirates as he seeks to free the slaves whose mind power is tapped to fuel the ship. It's a good combination of action and willpower.

The lead story sees Thor trying to get the bottom of his recent problems to discover why he has been suffering spells of weakness and just who is behind the attacks on the super heroes. Meanwhile his alter ego of Eric Masterson is trying to get control of his own life as he faces a battle with his ex-wife for custody of their son. And Hercules is experiencing moments of sudden fear. Then a magazine cover inspires Eric to seek help from Doctor Strange to try to sort out Thor's problems and this leads to the "Inner Questing" ritual as Thor and Strange venture into the thunder god's subconscious to discover the answers. Elsewhere the mysterious strange monitors Thor's actions and sends his henchman to deal with Thor, Hercules and Strange. However Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum is protected by magic and so the henchman withdraws, followed by Hercules.

Inside Thor's subconscious he encounters a foe wearing his old armour, leading to a classic "my enemy - myself" fight that Strange and Eric can only watch. Finally Thor subdues his foe and removes the masked helmet to reveal the cause of his weakness. It's Loki. Elsewhere the stranger confirms this, revealing his true form for the first time in the crossover.

To put it mildly, this is not a particularly dramatic revelation. (It was also given away in What The--?! #6 but this is the first confirmation it's the same in the regular reality.) The mysterious stranger has various magical abilities and has been shown monitoring things from a throne room with monitor screens in flames. He has an especial hatred for the Avengers, identifying in particular the Wasp and Hank Pym. And the most blatant giveaway is the central alliance of super-villains. Consisting of the traditional strategic archenemies of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man & Daredevil and the Human Torch, it's an alliance that could have been put together at any time since the mid-1960s. The absence of Thor's archenemy, who also caused the Avengers to be formed in the first place, was highly telling and there was no attempt to give Loki any alibi elsewhere. (Other candidates, such as Baron Mordo and Immortus, have been shown during the crossover.) The only unclear point is just how Thor determines that Loki is behind the "Acts of Vengeance" as well as the loss of strength, since he doesn't see the scenes the readers do.

This is a surprisingly key moment in the crossover, yet it went out of its way to hide it from contemporary readers, perhaps so another moment that we'll come to could serve as the official discovery. This is a pity as Thor is the title with the strongest retro Silver Age feel to it, especially thanks to Frenz's Kirby homage artwork, and "Acts of Vengeance" has a strong Silver Age throwback to it. This really deserved to be put on a stronger pedestal.

Thor #413 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011) - lead only
• Thor: In Mortal Flesh (2017 Epic Collection)

Avengers 313 - Acts of Vengeance

"The Ultimate Super-Villain Team-Up!" proclaims the cover. It's a phrase that many in Marvel have long wanted to use over the years, echoing the 1970s series, and here it makes an appearance in all its glory as the action heats up. But at times this is less of a team-up than a squabble.

Avengers #313

Artists: Paul Ryan and Tom Palmer
Writer: John Byrne
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Mike Rockwitz
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Ed.-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This issue sees the Mandarin go on the direct attack. Outside of the X-Men issues, which have barely acknowledged the wider event, the Mandarin hasn't done a great deal in the crossover. For that matter the central alliance of villains hasn't made its major follow-up assault against the Avengers yet. Instead there's a lot of squabbling which comes to blows here as Doctor Doom and the Red Skull briefly fight before the Kingpin walks in and dismisses them as children. Meanwhile the Wizard has followed the Mandarin, hoping to seize the initiative. If the intended message is that super-villains ultimately can't work together for long because of their egos, conflicting interests and different ideologies then it's been presented subtly over a long period. Such is the lack of loyalty that the Mandarin thinks nothing of firing his rings at the Avengers when the Wizard will be caught in the crossfire, then fleeing to leave his ally to be captured. The Mandarin here may be dismissive of an onlooker's "petty racism", but he's coming as a modern-day wizard in armour and is much more of the traditional cackling villain here than he was in the X-Men issues.

The Avengers continue to struggle with collapsing public support for super heroes, but this aspect of the story would work so much better had it been more integrated into the crossover rather than largely serving as a sideshow in a handful of issues. Thus once the Avengers arrive to tackle the Mandarin the crowds disappear and there's no comment at all as to what effect this has on public opinion. Instead it's largely an action piece with the Mandarin and Wizard using their powers and weapons to provide a strong challenge.

The issue also sees Magneto capturing the Scarlet Witch, stealing an entire wooden house in the process. Although he's been part of the main alliance, that effectively ended with his attack on the Red Skull and these events are more progressing a storyline that will come to a climax in later issues of Avengers West Coast. Though having writer co-ordination between the two Avengers team books is a good idea, they're still by definition set in different locations and attempts to tell a single story across them don't work well outside of formal crossovers. And this is very much looking beyond the end of the event.

It's not the only one. The issue sees Doctor Doom shot by the Red Skull and eventually explode, revealing him to have been a Doombot, perhaps all along. This is a very well-established practice of Doom, with more than one writer retconning appearances of Doom into robots (making for difficulties in constructing a chronology, though it gets much worse with Kang), but it also neatly takes Doom out of the equation, as though he's bored of the whole thing. It's slightly surprising that the Red Skull is shocked given the recent revelation that he too has an army of identical robots.

There's a real sense of things hotting up with this issue, and not just the Doombot. It's easy to forget that "Acts of Vengeance" ran over only three months, as the large number of issues can make it seem so much longer, but here in the core of the crossover things are now heading for what looks like a spectacular climax.

Avengers #313 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

Damage Control 3 - Acts of Vengeance

There are a few series notably absent from "Acts of Vengeance". We've already seen Excalibur and we'll come to Silver Surfer later, but there's some other notable absentees. Most of the titles that don't take part are set in different universes (e.g. Nth Man, What If...), licenced titles (Transformers, Alf), creator owned (Groo Chronicles, Sleeze Brothers) or reprints (Classic X-Men) so have their reasons. But also missing are Nick Fury, Agent of Shield and Sensational She-Hulk.

Damage Control (volume 2) #3

Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artist: Ernie Colon
Letters: Rick Parker
Colour: George Roussos
Editor: Sid Jacobson
Big Guy you don't wanna mess with: Tom DeFalco

The last on the list is especially surprising as it had only recently been launched with John Byrne writing and drawing the title in a very unique fashion, with the star aware that she's a character in a comic book and having a tetchy relationship with her writer. But Byrne left the series just as "Acts of Vengeance" was getting started, leading to a sudden rush of fill-in creators (such that she began issue #9 not having a clue who the names in the credit box were) for the next few issues until Steve Gerber emerged as the permanent new writer. Amidst all this, an "Acts of Vengeance" crossover was lost.

Whether this was all a coincidence or not is unclear, as She-Hulk briefly turned up an issue early, but this issue goes some way to providing a substitute by guest starring her. The story focuses on the consequences of the new owners causing chaos, with much of the workforce on strike, managers scrambling to find replacement contractors and two disgruntled sacked employees seeking their own act of vengeance. Amidst all this She-Hulk is borrowed from the Avengers to help with the heavy work, including getting the Daily Bugle building back into position. However she's attacked by two armoured guys with no fixed names (they eventually settled on "New" and "Improved") and then has to endure a team-up with Speedball.

Surprisingly this issue contains what should be a major moment in Marvel history. The original Avengers mansion had been relocated to Hydrobase and has now been recovered from the water, with Damage Control commissioned to recover it and return it to its original location in Manhattan. Unfortunately the project falls victim to the weakest of management trying to replace the engineers, with the mansion lost in the river. It's a surprise to find such an iconic building meets its final end as a part of a joke in a comedy series, but it's fun nonetheless.

The corporate commentary is more limited in this story, merely focusing on the cluelessness of the new owners in their approach to both the strike and operations, and the result is a much more madcap comedic piece than before, reflecting She-Hulk's own series. This series continues to be a good, fun distraction.

Damage Control (volume 2) #3 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Damage Control: The Complete Collection (2015)

New Mutants 86 - Acts of Vengeance

Given the protracted build-up for this issue it's fair to see expectations are higher than usual. And not only is this the series finally devoting a full issue to "Acts of Vengeance", but this is also a landmark for the creative team. It's the start of the run by Rob Liefeld.

New Mutants #86

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Rob Liefeld
Inker: Bob Wiacek
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colourist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Ah Rob Liefeld. It's astonishing to see that at the end of last issue he was actually billed strongly as about to start on the book. This is incredible for someone whose first published story had only appeared twenty months earlier and who had worked on a grand total of just a dozen issues before getting the gig. It's one thing to try a relatively new artist on a long-running book, it's another altogether to be heavily billing their arrival. Looking at this it seems clear that Liefeld peaked way too early and his style got stuck before it developed. Liefeld has his fans, as his sales over the years certainly demonstrate, but also his detractors, particularly given the way large charge of the comics industry started pursuing the style. I'm invariably biased as in the early 1990s I was largely reading titles that had avoided the trend and only first encountered Liefeld's work on a permanent(ish) basis with "Heroes Reborn", which wasn't the best circumstances.

Here the art shows a dynamism but also the odd awkward poses, extra-long legs and titillating shots that Liefeld would go on to be known for, though given the characters involved and Skids's established costume, the most overt are some of the angles of the Vulture's rear. It may be a theme of his story that he's showing there's life in the old man yet but there are some places better not gone. The multiple lines on faces actually works quite well for both the Vulture and Tinkerer, really emphasising that these are wrinkled old men. However the fight scenes are rather confused, with a limited sense of how the five characters are all positioned in relation to each other, and the explosive climax has captions describing what's happening over a two-panel spread that really fails to show the key moments of the sequence.

The plot is straightforward though we get a further dismissal of the wider crossover from Simonson with the Vulture receiving orders from an unseen stranger (but no doubt that particular mysterious stranger) to attack Speedball but decides this is beneath him, later bemoaning "Where's the villainy in that? Where's the prestige? Where's the vengeance?" and instead sets out to free Nitro, another old man being help sedated in a cannister to prevent him using his exploding powers. The Vulture aims to use those powers to show he's a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile Rusty and Skids escape jail in the hope of capturing the Vulture and proving the value of mutants. However at the end Freedom Force show up, seemingly working for the government once more (another sign of the series's reluctance to integrate well with the wider crossover) to take them away. Later there's an attack on an energy research facility by a new terrorist group, the Mutant Liberation Front, and we also get our first glimpse of the mysterious Cable.

Given all the build-up to this issue and the high billing given to the series's new artist, expectations are flying higher than the Vulture. Unfortunately they're not met with a somewhat simplistic tale let down at key moments by the artwork. However it's good to see some villains rejecting the stock structure and heroes the overall scheme has assigned them as well as to show a villain at times written off as a feeble joke (and subject to more attempts at replacement than just about any without "goblin" in the name) striving to restore his reputation.

New Mutants #86 has been reprinted in:

• Cable and the New Mutants (1992)
• X-Force: Cable & the New Mutants Marvel Premiere Edition (2010)
• Acts of Vengeance Crossover Omnibus (2011)

New Mutants 85 - Acts of Vengeance

"Acts of Vengeance" continues to be an unwanted nuisance in this issue, which otherwise concludes the Asgard war storyline, but there is at least some awareness that there will be more less familiar than usual readers with captions on the first three pages quickly summarising what's going on and introducing all the key players in a two-page battle spread.

New Mutants #85

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Geoff Isherwood
Inker: Bret Blevins
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colourist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Back on Earth the plot continues at snail's pace as the Vulture throws off Rusty Collins and flies away to release Nitro the exploding man. Rusty in turn frees Skids. It's a quick scene but spreading it over multiple issues just makes it stand out how much this has been forced upon the wider story and Louise Simonson is doing the bare minimum. It's also unfortunate that there's another fill-in artist this time, Geoff Isherwood, and he draws the Vulture in his conventional flight suit rather than the prison uniform and modified wings seen last issue. This is building up for the next issue, but being such an afterthought in the series is continuing to be annoying given the way it's drawn people in.

The conclusion to the story in Asgard is mostly an action piece as just about everyone battles against Hela's army of giants, trolls, dwarves, dark elves and dark Valkyries, including Moonstar possessed by a cursed sword. Whilst everyone else is fighting Moonstar seeks to assassinate Odin and the New Mutants have to stop her, trying both words and physical force. There's a poignancy as Wolfsbane confronts her, trying to appeal to her true self but getting nowhere and it takes Eitri, a dwarf-lord, to expose the vulnerability of the sword, leaving Cannonball facing how to put an end to it all.

This issue is a step up from the previous one as it actually makes some attempt to explain the situation in Asgard and as the concluding part of a storyline there's a real sense of closure to it. But it's still first and foremost an issue of its own series resenting the imposition of a crossover and only giving away a few pages to slowly advance a subplot. It would probably have been better all-round if neither this nor the last issue had carried the "Acts of Vengeance" banner and so not exposed them as one of the weakest contributions to the whole arc.

New Mutants #85 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossover Omnibus (2011)
• New Mutants Epic Collection: Curse of the Valkyries (2018)

New Mutants 84 - Acts of Vengeance

In one way or another, every single one of the four mutant titles has a somewhat awkward relationship with the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover. None has a conventional style story in which the heroes are targeted by foes they haven't fought before. Sometimes the story could just as easily have been told without the wider event. And in most cases the titles were telling multi-part stories that had moved the heroes away from their normal spheres, with the event becoming an irritating intrusion.

New Mutants #84

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Terry Shoemaker
Inker: Al Milgrom
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colourist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Thus this is really the penultimate chapter of one of the series's own storylines, with "Acts of Vengeance" now announced via a banner on the cover but confined to two pages set on Earth; the intention presumably being that the two stories can be separated for reprints if necessary. The "Acts of Vengeance" sequence is extremely straightforward, continuing events in the prison that Rusty Collins has been sent to for reasons not given here. Another inmate is the Vulture, taunted for being past it and having been ignored by the organisers of all the attacks on the superheroes. But then he discovers a new set of wings with modifications made to his designs and determines to prove everyone wrong by breaking out with a supplied explosive then reasserting his name. Rusty tries to stop him but gets carried out as the Vulture flies off. It's a straightforward sequence setting things up for a later issue but feels like it was shovelled in to meet an editorial dictat to maximise the additional sales that would come from the crossover. It also implies that the organised nature of the attacks is either rather more obvious than other series imply, or recruiters have visited the jail (which seems more likely, given the presence of the wings).

As for the rest of the issue... Oh dear. To cut to the chase this is the penultimate part of a storyline set in Asgard which Hela, the Norse goddess of death, is about to attack. This issue is focused on getting the New Mutants, the Warriors Three and various other characters plus allies altogether to help the defence. As a result it's a fast-paced piece that moves a lot of people around. In the process it completely fails to explain just what the New Mutants are doing in Asgard or who the various groups are. It seems the story was written before it was realised that the crossover was coming and nobody tried to modify it.

This is a strong contender to be the single worst issue of all the books with "Acts of Vengeance" on the cover as it makes next to no concession for readers brought in by the crossover and doesn't even try to at least wield the theme of fighting other heroes' foes into the existing narrative. As we'll see elsewhere, Louise Simonson was one of several writers who openly expressed their dislike of the crossover, but most still did what they could to accommodate it and the new audience. This issue would have been better off not putting the banner on the corner of the cover and not bringing in extra readers just to confuse them.

New Mutants #84 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossover Omnibus (2011)
• New Mutants Epic Collection: Curse of the Valkyries (2018)