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 Spotlight 28 - Acts of Vengeance

It's been a recurring theme throughout these reviews that "Acts of Vengeance" as a whole hasn't made the best use of the big public debate about whether superheroes should be cheered or feared and if there should be government registration of them. By and large this has been left to one title with others only making passing reference. So it's nice to see that both stories in this issue address the themes, coming from different angles.

Avengers Spotlight #28

Writer: Howard Mackie (first)
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie (second
Penciler: Al Milgom (first)
Penciler: Dwayne Turner (second)
Inker: Don Heck (first)
Inker: Chris Ivy (second)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Paul Becton (first)
Colourist: Mike Rockwitz (second)
Managing Editor: Gregory Wight (second only)
Editor: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco (all)

The first, written by Howard Mackie and drawn by Al Milgrom, is a straightforward tale of Hawkeye and Mockingbird discovering that criminals are posing as them to commit a string of bank robberies in Denver at a time when superheroes are increasingly blamed for the upswing in attacks and destruction. So they fly out to the city to clear their names and discover the truth of what's going on. The resolution to the fight involves one of the best uses of Hawkeye's particular characteristics and couldn't have been done by most other heroes. All in all it's quite a simple little piece.

The second is an interesting tale of the Mad Thinker setting out to help the heroes. Invited to join the leaders' alliance (in a flashback) he declines and instead makes clear he has worked out who the mysterious stranger is - "It's obvious if one thinks about it." Indeed it does seem that way. The Thinker is more concerned with the potential backlash that could undermine his own plans, so he commissions obscure giant-sized villain Leviathan, renames him "Gargantua" and sends him to attack a rally against the proposed registration act that the Wasp and Wonder Man are about to address. Gargantua isn't the most threatening villain ever and is entirely reliant on transmitted instructions but that isn't the real aim of the attack and instead everyone else wins.

Neither tale is particularly substantial but that's in part down to the restrictive format of just eleven pages with the rotating strip not really being able to carry things forward. However at this stage it's good to see some uses of the wider situation around and variations on the formula to produce some more original stories.

Avengers Spotlight #28 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)

What The--?! 6 - Acts of Vengeance

Marvel has a long history of self-parody strips and comics, ranging all the way back to Not Brand Echh in the 1960s. Its main series in the late 1980s and early 1990s was What The--?!, which had a 26 issue run over five years with even the schedule a parody at times, coming out monthly, bimonthly, quarterly and appearing at random times. Issue #6 came out during a big event and parodies it with 'Everybody vs. Everybody Else in "SMACKS OF VENGEANCE!"'

What The--?! #6

Written and pencilled by: John Byrne ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Inked by: Terry Austin ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Lettered bu: Rick Parker ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Coloured by: Mike Rockwitz ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Co-Writer: Doug Rice ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Co-Writer/Artist: Hilary Barta ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Letterer: Willie Schubert ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Colourist: Linda Lessmann ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Writer: Howard Mackie ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Penciler: Adam Blaustein ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Inker: Chris Ivy ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Letters: Brad K. Joyce ("Sore wants a Haircut!" and "Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Colourist: Ronn Stern ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Story: Peter B. Gillis ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Pencils: Doug Rice ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Inks and most of the good jokes!: Hilary Barta ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Colours: Kelly P. Corvese ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Editors: Terry Kavanagh and Carl Potts
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This eight-page strip doesn't go for a big spanking fest but rather justifies its title with an intro that explains the situation just "smacks of vengeance". In this parody there is a small invasion by villains from the Dee-See universe such as the Jokester, Sinestronie, Magilla Grod and Metal-Toe, causing problems for heroes such as Scaredevil, the Mighty Sore, Wrillimean and the Revengers, led by Chaplin America. There's even a cameo by Casper and Wendy from Harvey Comics before Chaplin America decides there are too many companies and throws them out. Most of the names are straightforward twists on the existing heroes such as Ironed Man, the Scarlet Wench, the Visionary, Wondrous Man, the Wisp and Buckeye, but calling Quasar's parody "Motorola" is a joke that doesn't work well without background knowledge. ("Quasar" is a brand of electronics originally from Motorola, but the name doesn't seem to have been used outside the US and Motorola sold the brand 15 years before this issue was published.)

This is mainly a strip full of gags but it also does something very surprising. There's a mystery villain who overstays their time in the One-Hour Lurking Zone and their identity is revealed. And, as we'll see later on, it's the identity of the mysterious stranger, published (according to Mike's Amazing World of Comics) three weeks before both regular comics that revealed it went on sale. It has to be said that the stranger's identity hasn't been too well disguised, but it's astonishing that a parody comic could do this even with the crossover's core writer at the helm. Maybe the schedule or the shipping got mixed up (a problem that has hit a lot of Avengers based crossovers over the years) or maybe the identity was considered so obvious as to not try to disguise it any further.

This issue also contains three other parody tales with an especial emphasis on some of the most popular characters and themes in comics at the time, and not just at Marvel. "Origin of the Pulverizer" takes a twist on the origin of the Punisher (starting with a scene in a park when a gang boss kicks a boy's dog into orbit) and throws in several elements from other series and characters, particularly Batman. But the moment that really made me sit up in surprise is the scene where the man who will become the Pulverizer sits contemplating how to instil terror into criminals only to be hit by a brick through the window which results in inspiration for his visual identity. I wonder if Doug Rice and Hilary Barta were aware of Lew Stringer's wonderful Brickman, which did the exact same joke over a decade earlier. In reverse, Stringer recalls that he was certainly aware of this:

Ha! Yes, I remember seeing this at the time, 11 years after I first did the gag. He drew it better than me, but I still think it's funnier if it smashes through the window. (Who'd throw a brick through an open window?)

— Lew Stringer (@lewstringer) November 9, 2017

"Sore wants a Haircut!" sees the character go to the barber's only to find it specialises in a particular style seen across multiple Marvel characters. "Adventure into Boredom! Fear!" sees a confrontation between the Man-Thang and the Swamp-Thang about their origin and the style of the words in their respective strips. The comic also mocks some of the adverts from bygone years, whether for Marvel merchandise or for toy weapons or dubious archaeological finds. There's even a back-page parody of the "build up your muscles to deal with bullies on the beach" adverts that throws in a parody of Thor for good measure.

All in all this is quite a fun little piece that playfully mocks Marvel and beyond, though at the time it would have lost marks for giving away the identity of the mysterious stranger. But beyond that it's good for what it is.

What The--?! #6 has been reprinted in:

• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

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)