Fantastic Four 325 - Inferno

The Silver Surfer arrives in time for a child custody battle.

Fantastic Four #325

Story: S.F.X. Englehart
Guest pencils: Rich Buckler
Guest inks: Romeo Tanghal
Letters: Michael Heisler
Colors: George Roussos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

(Although not part of Inferno itself or included in the collected editions this is the conclusion to the storyline in the earlier Fantastic Four issues so worth a look at.)

The Silver Surfer noticed the disruption to Mercury's orbit and has come to the Solar System where he finds the Human Torch adrift in space and takes him back to New York. There he is reunited with Mantis and learns how she lost her memories then her powers and her son. He agrees to help her recover him. The Surfer proves unable to turn off the Human Torch's flames then Kang returns accompanied by the High Cotati and a pod containing Mantis's son. The Cotati demand that Mantis cease pursuing her son who they want to be their ambassador to the universe. She refuses so the Cotati determine she must die and unleash the Priests of Pama on her. The Fantastic Four and Surfer join her in fighting back with Kang producing more advanced weaponry to restrain the Surfer. Mantis breaks through to reach the Cotati and fights with her mind, forcing them to flee with the Priests and Kang both withdrawing as well. Mantis announces the Cotati have withdrawn into the realm of pure thought and only she has the training to follow them so she says goodbye to the Surfer and abandons her body to enter the realm. An upset Surfer flies away alone.

And so we reach multiple endings. Not only is this the real ending for the Fantastic Four's Inferno saga (even though Inferno itself has ended by the time the Surfer and Torch reach Earth) but this is also the last issue with Englehart's name on it and the conclusion to his attempt to tell a saga involving Mantis. Englehart would remain on the series for another eight months using the pseudonym "John Harkness" with a bizarre story in which the Fantastic Four wind up being replaced by imposters based on the Silver Age and there were some dreams as well that reflected some of the battles with editorial. The whole thing ends with "Mr Harkness" appearing in the final two panels of issue #333 to agree with Franklin "this was all a mistake" and says "I'll try. But it might take a better man than me to straighten out this mess." With that Englehart was gone and also soon left Silver Surfer. He then wrote an open letter to fanzines about the problems he had had on all three series (West Coast Avengers being the third) at Marvel, directly blaming Tom DeFalco rather the different individual editors. In later years his website would include some details of the disputes that invariably casts a cloud when reading the issues themselves.

This story does not disguise its roots as a rewritten quick piece designed to end things with Mantis with as much dignity as possible whilst Englehart still had any control over her. It makes use of Kang's time travel abilities to go off and make a deal to work with the Cotati for his own revenge but ultimately boils down to little more than a guest star turning up for a fight. The Surfer and Mantis were intended to be reunited to carry forth into adventures in the Surfer's own series but with that avenue cut off Englehart now resorts to removing Mantis from the physical realm altogether. Despite reiterating that she has lost her powers and can only rely on her training she proves able to abandon her body completely in a rushed ending as she chases after the Cotati.

The Cotati's motivations make little sense here. They have manipulated things to arrange for a child to be born to a union between a human and Cotati because... they lost their ability to move and want "an ambulatory plant" to "be our ambassador to the universe". Why they can't just make use of another being's body if they want to walk about is utterly unexplained and they've already shown they can communicate with other beings. It's a feeble motivation for what has turned out to be such a long quest over multiple titles and it feels as though no effort is being made deliberately. The final battle resorts to Mantis still having powers from when she trained to become the Celestial Madonna that she has not demonstrated for a good while.

All in all this feels like a deliberate poor effort with a writer more concerned to write Mantis out of the physical realm than anything else and just throwing out random stuff to get to the conclusion. Combined with some terrible art - the Thing especially looks worse than ever - and the result is a whimpering end to it all.

(Oh and exactly when is Inferno set? This issue takes place in the aftermath but it's called "A Christmas Tale" and features snow. Yet other issues have referenced the summer or Halloween.)

Fantastic Four 324 - Inferno

More foes step in to complicate Mantis's quest.

Fantastic Four #324

Story: S.F.X. Englehart
Pencils: Keith Pollard
Inks: Romeo Tanghal
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: George Roussos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

(There's no "Inferno continues" triangle on the cover but it's not clear why as other Inferno crossovers had it that month and there were even a few stragglers the following month. Anyway this issue is clearly set during Inferno and has been included in all collected editions that contain the crossovers.)

The Human Torch's flame is out of control and nothing will turn it off. Meanwhile Mantis has disappeared from the cell on Kang's ship. Everyone returns to New York to find the sorcerer Necrodamus has escaped from Limbo and taken Mantis to sacrifice her at a point when the planets align to secure great power. The Three and Kang find themselves having to work together with Ms Marvel coming up with a plan. Kang and the Human Torch take off for space where they manage to shift Mercury from its orbit long enough to prevent the alignment. Necrodamus fades back into Limbo. Kang abandons Johnny in space but the movement of the planets attracts the attention of the Silver Surfer.

The story credit is a reflection of the continued breakdown in relations between Steve Englehart and Marvel editorial as he felt he was now just scripting plots totally rewritten by his editors - or just supplying sound effects. Perhaps that's why this issue feels so quick and plot light. Alternatively it may have been an intentional filler interlude in the story to mark time before issue #325 came after the end of the Inferno crossover. Whatever the reason the result is an extremely poor issue. In her brief dialogue it seems as though Mantis is expressing his frustration as bemoans how she has been "Abused, humiliated wherever she turns! ... This one would fight back! ... she has come to feel, in her very bones she will never get back to the stars!" It is as if the writer or scripter feels he will never be able to complete the character's story as he wished.

This continues the practice of using assorted villains mainly associated with the Avengers. Although Necrodamus had been introduced by Englehart in his early 1970s run on Defenders the sorcerer's main appearances since had been in conflict with the Scarlet Witch. Thus it would make sense for him to have returned in West Coast Avengers but with Englehart having just left that book it was clear he was transferring his plans over even when they no longer made sense. The result is a sorcerer who's around for half an issue with a crude plan that is quickly thwarted and he fades away without ever having felt like the significant menace required at this stage of the story. N'astirh briefly appears to warn against distractions with Necrodamus pledging he will use the power to help but as scripted it seems most likely that N'astirh leaves after determining Necrodamus will be no menace to his plans.

One of the inadvertent confusions raised by this issue is that there are actually at least two dimensions in Marvel called Limbo - the magical realm from which Inferno stems and the more science fiction dimension that time travellers pass through and which is ruled over by Kang's future incarnation Immortus. This issue makes no attempt to sort out the confusion between the two even though Kang appears to pass through the latter whilst Necrodamus has been trapped in the former. Kang continues to distance himself from the Kangs appearing over in Avengers in an attempt to clear up the mess. He's also got a weapon on his time ship that makes the noise "Tardis!"

Johnny's flame going out of control is not really developed here and apart from a few comments by the Thing and Ms Marvel about keeping their distance there is just no sign of any affect the permanent flame is having on anything beyond his inability to turn it off. Meanwhile a conversation about whether Ms Marvel could revert to human form if she wished to and whether she does so is started but cuts away before a critical reply, again giving away the editorial interference.

Overall this issue is just dire. It cannot disguise the utter pointlessness of the whole interlude with Necrodamus and there's a general sense of starting but not finishing that is not confined to Mantis's/Englehart's frustrations. Perhaps the cover lacks the "Inferno continues" triangle as a contemporary attempt to discourage readers from picking it up, whether out of dissatisfaction with it or a royalty sabotaging strategy. The behind the scenes conflict is all to clear and the result is this mess.

Fantastic Four 323 - Inferno

Kang travels into the Inferno of New York as part of his plan to steal a weapon buried in California.

Fantastic Four #323

Story: Steve Englehart
Pencils: Keith Pollard
Inks: Romeo Tanghal
Letters: Ghastly J. Workman
Colors: George Roussos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Fantastic Four or rather Three encounter Mantis as she searches for help to find her child which they offer once they have ascertained the situation in New York can be handled. Meanwhile Kang the Conqueror is seeking a powerful weapon created by a Celestial buried in California and plans to use Mantis's power as the Celestial Madonna to secure it. However she has lost this power and so he has to try other ways with the Three pursuing him to California and attacking as the Human Torch's power gets out of control.

Why isn't Kang a Fantastic Four villain? He made his debut in the series under the identity of the time travelling Pharaoh Rama-Tut. It was originally suggested that he was a descendent of Doctor Doom or even perhaps a future incarnation of Doom himself. Later it was revealed that he was from a parallel timeline that had been influenced by the intervention of Nathaniel Richards, Reed's father, who became an alternative candidate for the ancestor with Kang's real name revealed to be Nathaniel Richards. But instead the character got used in Avengers where he got his best known name and appearance and rarely ventured outside it. Prior to this issue his sole encounters with the Fantastic Four have been restricted to a cameo in an annual when just about every villain in the fledgling Marvel universe tried to attack Reed and Sue's wedding or a single story in the Human Torch/Thing strip in Strange Tales. Otherwise he had mainly been in Avengers but did sometimes turn up in other series. It's odd as a time travelling dictator who is the descendent of either the Four's archenemy or else of the (usual) leader's father would surely be a natural foe to turn to. But instead he has rarely come to these pages and here the attraction is not so much the team (who currently lack any of the Richards clan) but rather his pursuit of Mantis and Steve Englehart's continued attempts to tell her story.

(Later on in the mid 1990s the Fantastic Four did indeed get another foe who is a time travelling future dictator descended from the family. But I seem to be about the only reader who liked Hyperstorm. And he's also connected to another prominent Marvel family who are not known to have encountered him yet.)

As discussed previously on Fantastic Four Annual #21 (and more briefly on Silver Surfer Annual #1 and West Coast Avengers Annual #3) this was a period of prolonged behind the scenes struggle between Steve Englehart and his editors on all three titles with disagreement over the direction they should go in and the use of particular characters such as Mantis. Consequently after leaving West Coast Avengers he transferred his plans to Fantastic Four hence the use of traditional Avengers villains both last issue and this one. It would appear that Englehart had also planned a semi-crossover with Avengers as Kang is here seeking the same goal as Nebula over in the Fall of the Avengers storyline and working sneakily to avoid the Council of Cross-Time Kangs. The result of all this is that the Three are all too clearly wandering through someone's else's storyline and despite the "Inferno continues" triangle on the cover this issue is only very tangentially related to the crossover with a minor encounter with living parking meters and Kang commenting on how he can use the dimensional upheavals to slip in undetected by his counterparts being the only significant features. The Torch initially thinks his problems with controlling his flame power are down to the effects of Inferno but the problems continue even out on the west coast.

Combined with some poor art that seems to be a consequence of new inker Romeo Tanghal struggling with both the Thing and Ms Marvel the result is that this really doesn't feel like an issue of Fantastic Four or an Inferno crossover. Instead it is hard to disguise that it is supposed to be a West Coast Avengers storyline with even the California location retained. Also if editorial was closing in on Mantis then it would have helped to accelerate the telling of her story but instead things continue to drag out with Kang's intervention feeling more of a distraction than an advancement of the plot. This issue is forgettable.

Fantastic Four 322 - Inferno

A battle breaks out between two fundamental forces.

Fantastic Four #322

Story: Steve Englehart
Pencils: Keith Pollard
Finishes: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Workman
Colors: George Roussos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Chief: Tom DeFalco

Graviton is flying the chunk of Earth that had been his base back towards the planet as he reflects on how he survived an encounter with the West Coast Avengers. In New York the remaining three members of the Fantastic Four - the Thing (Ben Grimm), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Ms Marvel (Sharon Ventura) - tackle mailboxes, bins and bikes that have all come to life. A rogue Watcher observes from high up in the Empire State Building as Graviton arrives in the city, encounters the demons and reflects on how his power could prevent the merger of two separate dimensions. But before he can decide to do it or not Ben and Sharon attack with Johnny soon joining. Graviton quickly overcomes them and is crushing them with his power when the Torch tries again and challenges the fundamental force of gravity with the equally fundamental force of fire using temperature changes to keep Graviton off balance until Ben knocks him out. The observing Watcher notes how Ben did what he thought was right but stopped Graviton from dealing with the wider threat. Meanwhile Johnny finds it a little harder to turn off his flame.

This issue is an interesting staging post. As has been discussed in some of the other reviews and elsewhere on the web it was around this time that Steve Englehart had big disputes with his editors that resulted in him leaving West Coast Avengers, Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer one by one, and also trying to transfer key plots and ideas from one title to another. Here this only manifests with the use of Graviton, a hitherto Avengers foe who was seemingly being built up to be one of the main recurring enemies for the West Coast team, with the bigger transfer coming in the next issue. What's a more notable sign of editorial disputes at this stage is that the Fantastic Four have been numerically inaccurate for several issues now since the departure of Crystal in the annual and no fourth member has yet come forward.

Also notable is the way that Inferno is only used as a small backdrop at this stage with a few demons and animated objects running around and Graviton's consideration of trying to stop the dimensions merging is more theoretical than a driving plot point. Instead this is a character and action issue as the Three try to take down Graviton upon seeing him and considering their current situation. There's a scene where Sharon and Ben reflect on how her appearance is changing from leathery skin to a rockier form much as Ben's did in the past. Although this follows the pattern with the Thing it must also have been a relief for the artists to make Sharon a little easier to draw - especially as Ben's current "pineapple" look must have been a nightmare and probably wasn't designed or agreed with long-term use in mind. Ben tells Sharon that there may be a way for her to change back as there was once for him but a mental block was in the way. However although it's not explicitly said it seems Sharon has come to terms with her current form making Ben's comments feel crass.

This was Joe Sinnott's final issue of the series. His first was as early as #5 and he'd been the series's regular inker for most of the period since #44 bar the John Byrne years (when Byrne did his own inking). He would switch to Thor for a few years before retiring (although he continued to do the Spider-Man newspaper strip until it ended in 2019) so it's a pity that he left on such a flat issue that doesn't feature the traditional line-up when there was editorial pressure to go back to it. This is unfortunately just an example of how crossovers often mandate an excessive number of issues with some such as these forgettable.

Thor 414 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

In a break from recent issues this one contains a full-length story which follows up on Loki's henchman from last issue.

Thor #414

Words & Plot: Tom DeFalco
Pictures & Plot: Ron Frenz
Finished Art: Joe Sinnott
Inks: Mike De Carlo
Lettering: Michael Heisler
Colouring: George Roussos
Editing: Ralph Macchio

It's unclear whether the henchman's identity was ever meant to be a secret - last issue he was not named and shown wearing a giant suit and visor sunglasses but (although the orange skin and brown beard rather limited the disguise). But here the cover announces him as Ulik from the outset and inside he sheds his Earth clothes and announces his name fairly quickly as though there was never any doubt. Yet another mystery man is introduced in this issue, a mysterious new crime lord with some strange tastes in architecture. Coming so soon after both Loki in "Acts of Vengeance" and a possible Ulik mystery it suggests overkill of the concept.

The issue sees Thor's human alter ego, Eric Masterson, continue to struggle with the competing demands of everyday life and being the alternate form of an Asgardian god. Not only are hero duties interfering with work commitments but also his ex-wife is seeking to retake custody of their son, and it's looking to shape up to be a nasty fight that Thor won't be able to do anything about. Hercules is also suffering from a strange outbreak of fear that weakens his effectiveness in battle, especially when Ulik uses a magical talisman to increase his size and strength.

Oddly the hero of the day turns out to be police Lieutenant Marcus Stone, on the verge of resigning from the force at his wife's insistence. With Thor and Hercules trapped under a pile of cars (and Thor reverted to Eric out of reach of the hammer), it's Stone who intercepts Ulik on a rooftop and shoots at him until Ulik falls and knocks himself out. Stone (one of a number of characters who suffers brief race changes at the hands of George Roussos) would go on to command the special unit Code: Blue and it's an early sign of how under DeFalco and Frenz the title might maintain a retro Silver Age look and feel, but it would also veer heavily into the mortal world, showing the potential of humans in the face of great odds. Unfortunately here it comes across poorly that despite the presence of both Thor and Hercules it takes one mortal man's courage to succeed; this sort of moment would have been better left to an untransformed Eric.

Overall this issue does the job of finishing off the loose end from the last issue, with Ulik acknowledging he was brought to help in the "Acts of Vengeance". The artwork is as ever solid and brilliantly retro, whilst the continuing plots of the problems in Eric's life work well. However the story goes a bit too far in breaking down the existing heroes in order to elevate the ordinary humans and there are better ways to approach this.

Thor #414 has been reprinted in:

• Thor: In Mortal Flesh (2017 Epic Collection)

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)

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)

Avengers Spotlight 27 - Acts of Vengeance

This series now returns to the usual format of two separate strips with different creative teams, though both take part in the crossover.

Avengers Spotlight #27

Writer: Howard Mackie (first)
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie (second
Penciler: Al Milgrom (first)
Penciler: Dwayne Turner (second)
Inker: Don Heck (first)
Inker: Chris Ivy (second)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: George Roussos (first)
Colourist: Mike Rockwitz (second)
Editor: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Editor II: Gregory Wight (second only)
Editor III: Tom DeFalco (all)

First up is the series's regular Hawkeye strip. This is quite a straightforward tale of Boomerang being recruited by the mysterious stranger who convinces him he can't beat Iron Man but can instead score a victory over Hawkeye. The two clash in New York with explosive results. It's interesting to note that it's the mysterious stranger who here recruits Boomerang, rather than one of the six leaders he's assembled, and given the stranger's powers such as being able to transport himself instantaneously it does raise the question as to why he even needed to assemble an alliance of leading villains, especially as they haven't yet done much together. The combination of boomerangs against arrows seems so obvious that it's a surprise that it hadn't been done before, though as Hawkeye had only had a regular solo strip since the start of this series there may not have been the opportunity. The fight results in a lot of damage from Boomerang's weapons, setting a building on fire. Hawkeye has to rescue a woman trapped on the upper level, but her reaction is a reminder that not everyone is so grateful for superheroes and all they bring. It's good to see the proposed Super Human Registration Act is having an impact beyond the Fantastic Four issues in which it's being discussed and that heroes bring trouble as well as salvation.

The second strip headlines no less than five of the reserve Avengers, Firebird, Captain Marvel (this is Monica Rambeau), Moondragon, Black Widow and Hellcat, as they struggle with the Awesome Android near the site of the sunken Avengers Island. This gives the opportunity for a lot of former female members to be seen again. It's also a good consequential story as it focuses on the continued salvage efforts, with the discovery that several androids that were held in suspended animation have escaped, making for good use of continuity and allowing for the fact that with such a disparate group drawn from different eras it's probable that some of them will have encountered the foe - indeed Captain Marvel was leading the team at the time the Android was taken down. Unfortunately with five leads plus Stingray all competing for attention in the space of eleven pages there's not a great deal of development and the resolution is totally deus ex machina as Captain Marvel shows up and immediately fishes out the right equipment to neutralise a foe against whom the use of powers is counterproductive.

The two-strip nature means both tales are relatively brief but the lead puts in a standard piece of foe switching whilst the latter takes a different angle of foes released in the action. Unfortunately there's not enough space for much development and the latter has too great a cast of heroes for the space available but otherwise these are making a good effort to build on the wider events and show the consequences.

Avengers Spotlight #27 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)

Fantastic Four 336 - Acts of Vengeance

And so we come to the third and final Fantastic Four issue, this time promising "the most fearsome villains" in the universe, a claim that fails to convince the Thing.

Fantastic Four #336

Writing: Walter Simonson
Penciling: Ron Lim
Inking: Mike De Carlo
Lettering: Bill Oakley
Colouring: George Roussos
Editing: Ralph Macchio
Editing-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story continues at the Congressional committee with yet more lame villains showing up and being merely a distraction from the central discussion about the proposed Super Powers Registration Act. So we forego the opportunity to see Ben, Sharon and Johnny dealing with the Owl, the Armadillo, Baron Brimstone, Whirlwind, the Man Ape, Still Man and Orka the Killer Whale and instead see Reed and Susan engaging their brains to argue the case against the potential constructions of a Registration Act. Some of Reed's put downs of various Congressional representatives are particularly fun, ranging from undermining a critic for being late without discipline through to pointing out the lack of a clearly defined purpose for registration. Still the resolution to the proposal sees Reed also deploy his scientific expertise both to demonstrate the problems with detection and to analyse the mysterious mental control box.

A showdown comes with Doctor Doom, who here seems highly dismissive of the whole "Acts of Vengeance" scheme, though it's soon shown there's more to Doom than it first seems (and a later Simonson issue would take the idea and run with it much further). Still, despite appearances by the Super Adaptors, Hydro-Man and Water Wizard, the encounter is a sign that a lot of writers have problems with the general premise of the crossover and for good reason.

For many villains their relationship with the heroes is a deeply personal one and they want not just their foe's destruction but also the satisfaction of having achieved it themselves. Indeed some of them have actually saved heroes' lives in order to keep open the opportunity to personally dispose of them. And thus a trading scheme should be of no interest to them. As a result Doom has instead been testing equipment and deliberately using lame villains to limit the risk, with the bonus of embarrassing the Five in the process. The nature of Doom here is such that we have to exercise a degree of caution in accepting his words at face value. So far, he's been the most used of the leading villains and consistency isn't the easiest thing to achieve with such heavy use in rapid succession.

Nevertheless this issue, written by Walter Simonson and drawn by Ron Lim, is a good conclusion to a surprisingly different take on both the crossover and the series. Political debate can be dry to some but here a major proposal and the underlying philosophies are explored with respect and nuance whilst the regulars are given strong characterisation that shows the new writer has a good grip on them.

Fantastic Four #336 has been reprinted in:

• Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walter Simonson Volume 1 (2007)
• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Fantastic Four Epic Collection: Into the Timestream (2014)

Fantastic Four 335 - Acts of Vengeance

This time our heroes are up against "the most powerful villains in the universe". "You're kidding, right?" asks Sharon.

Fantastic Four #335

Writing: Walter Simonson
Penciling: Rich Buckler
Inking: Romeo Tanghal
Lettering: Bill Oakley
Colouring: George Roussos
Editing: Ralph Macchio
Editing-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Following on from the previous issue the Five have arrived in Congress for a hearing about the proposed Super Hero Registration Act (there's several different names for the bill flying around), leading to a discussion about the rights of wrongs of requiring individuals to register their powers against the back-drop of a conflict.

If this sounds incredibly familiar it's because legislation of the same nature underpinned a later big Marvel event, Civil War. But whereas that crossover saw major actual conflict between heroes, here the debate takes place entirely within a committee room of the US Congress with only minor moments of action as yet more lame villains show up to try to attack the Fantastic Four and fail miserably. But it's also interesting to see just how the position of particular heroes changed over the years. In Civil War Reed Richards was all in favour of registration, leading to a falling out with Susan. Here, however, Reed takes a much more critical position. It's also interesting to see how during the first Bush presidency the political debate is presented in a much more nuanced way. Speakers at the committee hearing include a general supporting the military benefits of registration, government arsehole-in-chief Henry Peter Gyrich speaking in support of the public good to control power overriding the liberties of the individual and Hamilton Nathanson, a fictional spokesperson for the National Rifle Association (despite the similar name, I don't think Charlton Heston had yet become a prominent NRA figure in 1989), arguing against registration because they see it as a step towards a ban and take the same approach to powers as to guns.

Being from another country where both the structure and manner of political debate is different it's interesting to see a more nuanced take on US conservative arguments in a medium that often has little time for them. It's critical to note that "conservative" means many different things and so Gyrich's statement "I am a conservative... I believe that that the more government is kept out of the lives of the individual, the better," is one that not all conservatives would agree with, especially when it comes to law and order (for instance the UK Conservative Party's effective founder was the same man who founded the Metropolitan Police). Still the debate over public protection versus individual freedom is one that resonates across borders and the approach here shows that there aren't easy answers and even a group like the National Rifle Association can put forward points that people agree with. There's also some mockery of the processes, with the story titled "Death by Debate" and Reed pulls the trick of trying to bore the committee to death by present a huge report that they eventually decide to accept without examining it further.

The villain fest continues with some odd moments. Apocalypse flies over the capital but it proves a false alarm as he never lands and it's unclear what he's doing there, particularly as he's in a very different league from the foes who make it inside. In quick succession the likes of Ramrod, Plantman, the Quill, the Flying Tiger, the Vanisher, the Eel, Thunderball and Mad Dog attack but all are quickly felled, in some cases through their own incompetence. (Thunderball's inclusion is surprising given he's normally treated more seriously.) Eventually it's realised that a strange has been mentally controlling the villains, leading to a Congressperson to accuse Reed Richards of staging the whole affair.

It's surprising that despite being a new run by an acclaimed writer and part of a crossover whose main selling point is previously unseen fights between heroes and villains that instead we've so far had two issues of almost complete non-action and instead characterisation and debate. Yet this doesn't in anyway feel as though things are dragging, with instead a good look at a complicated issue with real world parallels. The connection to the wider crossover isn't yet clear but all in all this is one of the best issues so far.

Fantastic Four #335 has been reprinted in:

• Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walter Simonson Volume 1 (2007)
• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Fantastic Four Epic Collection: Into the Timestream (2014)

Fantastic Four 334 - Acts of Vengeance

We now come to Fantastic Four #334, which is the first issue in Walter Simonson's run as writer and the penultimate issue in Rich Buckler's second run as penciller. Starting a run with three crossover issues isn't the most encouraging of circumstances. There's also the problem that the Fantastic Four isn't in the traditional line-up - indeed it's not even a foursome. The Thing has been restored to human form whilst the second Ms Marvel (Sharon Ventura) has been mutated into a She-Thing. There was also a fake Fantastic Four at the end of Steve Englehart's run but Reed Richards suggests that it's not going to impact the team in the long-run.

Fantastic Four #334

Writing: Walter Simonson
Penciling: Rich Buckler
Inking: Romeo Tanghal
Lettering: Bill Oakley
Colouring: George Roussos
Editing: Ralph Macchio
Editing-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Fantastic Four is traditionally a very character-based title with a strong family feel, so it's understandable that a new writer starts off by getting a good grasp of the Five and Franklin Richards rather than plunging straight into action. The only real action sequence comes when Captain America and Thor arrive on the roof only to find the Five are out and the security systems have been changed. Otherwise this is a mostly talky issue as the family discuss everything from a prominent movie to proposed legislation in the US Congress that they've been invited to speak about and the end of the issue sees them journey to Washington to do so in later issues. The inclusion of Captain America and Thor is interesting as they, together with Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, had formed four-fifths of the Avengers line-up (the fifth was Gilgamesh the Forgotten One) that Simonson assembled during his deconstruction and resurrection of the team over on that title, only to move on immediately move on. Although the crossover event makes such appearances more likely, it does hint slightly at where Simonson's early plans lie.

The cover proclaims "the deadliest villains on the universe" but Ben isn't convinced and it's easy to see why. In succession the Constrictor, the Beetle and the Shocker each tries to invade Four Freedoms Plaza only to be immediately captured by the security systems without a need for a fight. It's not yet clear why such a bunch of weak and lame villains have been sent but near the end of the story it appears several more are making their way to Washington, most by public transport, hinting at further developments. Of the lame foes, the Beetle had actually originated in the Human Torch's 1960s solo strip in Strange Tales, but had gone on to be a mainly Spider-Man villain and any case he hasn't previously fought either the rest of the Five or their security systems. The other two are unknown quantities here. Being underwhelming foes who are dealt with before they're even noticed means the issue isn't diverted by fight scenes and can instead concentrate on character building for the future.

But for the scene with Captain America and Thor, this particular issue could easily standalone without needing knowledge of the wider crossover, which must be a relief for the editors of various collected editions. It's a good start to one of the best Fantastic Four runs and also a strong issue that hooks into an event without letting it overwhelm the issue.

Fantastic Four #334 has been reprinted in:

• Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walter Simonson Volume 1 (2007)
• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Fantastic Four Epic Collection: Into the Timestream (2014)

Thor 410 - Acts of Vengeance

Although it doesn't have a banner proclaiming the crossover, Thor #410 effectively starts it.

Thor #410

Words & Plot: Tom DeFalco (all)
Pictures & Plot: Ron Frenz (lead)
Finished Art: Joe Sinnott (lead)
Illustrated: Herb Trimpe (back-up)
Lettering: Michael Heisler (lead)
Lettering: Richard Starkings (back-up)
Colouring: Tom Vincent and George Roussos (lead)
Colouring: Nel Yomtov (back-up)
Editing: Ralph Macchio (all)

Coming almost midway through the run by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, this issue mainly focuses on the conclusion of a story in which Doctor Doom steals Thor's hammer to use in his latest scheme again the other Doctor Doom, also known as Kristoff. A back-up story tells a tale of Volstagg of the Warriors Three.

The back-up is one of many "Tales of Asgard" that expand the mythology of the series. It's a straightforward comedic piece, as Volstagg focused tales tend to be. The lead story includes a team-up with Hercules and She-Hulk but the latter doesn't really contribute much beyond a few comedic moments and being an extra in a fight. Otherwise this is a relatively tame tale of Hercules and Eric Masterson (a mortal man Thor has been merged with) battling with Doctor Doom's Defence Droids whilst Doom uses a device to freeze time in Latveria and invade the castle, only to find his alternate self is prepared.

As the most prominent villain in the Marvel it's inevitable that Doctor Doom will be seen a lot in the coming crossover, so this issue is handy as a quick introduction to his status quo in the period - during a period when he was assumed to have been destroyed, a record of his personality and some memories was implanted into his young ward & designated heir Kristoff who came to believe he was the real Doctor Doom. Kristoff has held power in Latveria and regards the returned real Doctor Doom to be an impostor. As a result the latter has been operating in exile, trying to regain his kingdom through a variety of schemes. Given Doom's arrogance it's unsurprising that he blames the failure of this one on Thor even though the Thunder God's involvement was inevitable once the hammer was stolen. So it's understandable when at the end a mysterious stranger appears and proposes "an Act of Vengeance!" that Doom is interested.

However Doom is not normally a Thor villain. It's a strange route to bring him into the plot and an early sign of just how poorly disguised the stranger's identity is. Otherwise this issue is a relatively straightforward tale in the Silver Age homage style that DeFalco and Frenz had refined on the series. For much of its run Thor has had a feeling of the old fashioned about it, but for a series starring a character from mythology that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Thor #410 has been reprinted in:

• The Warriors Three Unleashed (2011 Premiere Edition Classic hardcover) - back-up only
• Thor: In Mortal Flesh (2017 Epic Collection)