Avengers West Coast 62 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

And so we come to the conclusion of the long-running Scarlet Witch storyline as Immortus seeks complete mastery over time through the Scarlet Witch's enhanced powers.

Avengers West Coast #62

Writers: Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It seeks to wrap up the threads and resolve Immortus's aims. As a goal, becoming the "master all of time" sounds grand, but it's never terribly clear what this actually means. As a result this degenerates into a powerful being seeking an abstract role that other, more powerful beings come to restrain him. "...did we hero types really accomplish anything in Limbo?" "Yeah -- or were we just along for the ride?" ask the Wasp and Wonder Man at the end, as though the script itself recognises the problem, with Agatha Harkness arguing that by battling Tempus they provided the distraction to allow her to reach through to the Scarlet Witch and get her to expel the excess power. But it's still a little unconvincing.

There's an actual fight here with the aforementioned Tempus which comes on both a physical and temporal level as the Avengers struggle with the giant creature, who chillingly ages Wonder Man and brings the other Avengers to their knees. But it serves a higher purpose as it allows Harkness to send her spirit to communicate with the Scarlet Witch and appeal to her feelings for her friends to make her break from her catatonic state. It's good to see that Wanda ultimately frees herself and regains independence after the way so many have manipulated her, but it then brings on a threat to the whole universe as numerous timelines are spawned. This attracts the attention of the Time Keepers, a trio of mysterious beings who are ultimately Immortus's bosses and show up to put him in his place. The ultimate irony is that he achieves what he wants but not in the form he wants it.

It's ultimately hard to find much to say about this issue given the abstract nature of the goals and final conflict. As ever it's hard to lay blame on the current creative team who are working to conclude a storyline they didn't begin or lay the basics for. And though it's gone on for probably a few months too many, that again is a consequence of the abrupt changeover and emergency fill-ins. The Avengers themselves are generally well handled and these are promising signs for the future, but for now we've a storyline that has gone all over the place and it's a relief it's now all over.

Avengers West Coast #62 has been reprinted in:

• Avengers West Coast: Darker Than Scarlet (2008)
• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

Avengers West Coast 61 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

This issue sees the west coast Avengers confronting Immortus and transported to Limbo whilst back on Earth Agatha Harkness uses her magic to maintain a shade of the lord of Limbo on Earth and subject him to a magical interrogation.

Avengers West Coast #61

Writers: Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

For a character who's made very few appearances over the years - by my reckoning only about five substantial storylines before this one - Immortus comes with far too much baggage. It seems that many times when either he and/or his younger self Kang has been used over the years there's been a lengthy scene setting out the character's history, including some retcons to tidy things up. The result is a character whose origin and motivations keep changing with the writer, making it rather hard to keep track of it all. Continuity is not necessarily a bad thing, but if a character can't be used without a heavy infodump and a set of retcons then that character probably shouldn't be used until a writer is able to extract them from the weight of their own history. Unfortunately here we have one writer clearing up after another, as Immortus is a hangover from the Byrne run, including the revelation that the Vision wasn't the recreation of the original Human Torch and that Immortus had shown a lie.

But what also feels messy is the way the whole storyline continues to liberally copy "Inferno". Now we have the ruler of the realm of Limbo (although this appears to be a different one) seeking to utilise a woman for his goal of seeking power, as well as massive revelations about how lives have long been manipulated in order to bring about the situation whereby the woman can be used as a tool for long term conquest. Coming little over a year after such a major storyline it's hard to dismiss it as casual coincidence. Instead it feels like an attempt to set down some grand scale continuity for the Avengers on a similar scale to the X-Men.

While all this information is being dumped, the Avengers face another incarnation of the Legion of the Unliving, made up of foes from the past or future. In general the foes have been chosen for their connections to the current Avengers so we get the second Black Knight, an old foe of Hank Pym and the Wasp, the Swordsman, once mentor to Hawkeye, the Grim Reaper, brother to Wonder Man, Iron Man 2020, the future counterpart of the current one, Left-Winger and Right-Winger, US Agent's former sidekicks whom he fell out with badly, Oort the Living Comet, a foe from Quicksilver's future, and Toro, the original Human Torch's partner. The last is also retconned into having taken part in the original Legion of the Unliving rather than the Torch himself, so it's a particular pity that the Torch isn't present for what could have been an interesting meeting. Similarly this is the first time that Iron Man has encountered his 2020 counterpart, and it's thus a little annoying that the script can't decide if Tony is Arno's "ancestor", "great uncle" or "uncle" (and other stories have in fact made him a first cousin once removed or, more recently, an adoptive brother). The line-up is also distorted by the lack of any specific dead foes for Quicksilver, resulting in the creation of Oort. The conflict is rather formulaic with most Avengers facing down their counterparts on an individual page before cutting to a page of Immortus's interrogation and back.

This issue is clearly aiming at taking some of the Avengers' mythology and using it to develop some great continuity for the long-term, but it just comes across as a mixture of a retread of a classic Avengers battle combined with too much of a continuity infodump. As ever, it's difficult to blame a new writing team thrust in the middle of a complicated storyline in which retcons have already been introduced but not yet explained, but the result is still rather turgid.

Avengers West Coast #61 has been reprinted in:

• Avengers West Coast: Darker Than Scarlet (2008)
• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

Avengers West Coast 60 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

We return now to Avengers West Coast, skipping over issues #58 & #59. John Byrne's sudden departure clearly left the title scrambling, hence two fill-in issues by separate creative teams, neither continuing the Scarlet Witch storyline in any essential way. Issue #59 even reveals itself to have been set in an alternate timeline that Immortus soon eliminates. It's notable that collections of the "Darker than Scarlet" storyline have skipped over the two, albeit creating problems for fitting into sequential runs of the series. Hence, they can be left out here with precedent.

Avengers West Coast #60

Writers: Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Issue #60 opens with Immortus pruning yet another timeline. This one sees the events of the Kennedy assassination turn out differently from reality as officers stop Lee Harvey Oswald in time. However all this does is to confirm a second gunman on the grass knoll and the difference is that there is no question about a conspiracy. It's also notable that Ryan draws the car layout correctly given how misrepresentation of this has fuelled so much speculation.

The rest of the issue sees the writer first getting a grip on the characters through a protracted sequence as they deal with the aftershocks of an earthquake, then a showdown with Magneto. Although Quicksilver's real role has already been blatantly hinted at, there's a real sense of rush to these scenes as though the new writer is hurrying to remove Magneto from the storyline. In what may be another sign of the wider struggle within Marvel over the direction of the character, we get a strong suggestion that he's actually being manipulated by someone else, presumably Immortus. It may be a quick fix solution to what is already a potentially convoluted storyline, but it just serves to emphasise the mess that's been made of the character in a short space of time as different visions then multiple retcons have all piled on top of one another.

This issue also sees the return of Hawkeye to the team in a rather sudden move, having left Mockingbird with the task of refining the Great Lakes Avengers into an official team. Like a lot of things in the issue it feels slightly rushed just to get characters into place and undo some of what the previous run set up. The rest of the team are handled well, with Hank increasingly emerging as the unofficial leader of the team, in spite of US Agent's habit of barking out orders, whilst Iron Man continues to do a very poor job of hiding the fact he's really the original. The team's solution to taking down Magneto is both imaginative and well thought through.

Overall though this is an issue that shows a new pair of writings rushing to get a grip on a series, to quickly undo some recent changes and developments and to try to move an ongoing storyline towards its conclusion. It's an understandable approach but it feels over hasty in its handling of both Magneto and Hawkeye, with the result that this is a rather unsatisfactory continuation. In fairness, the Thomases may not have had access to Byrne's notes to know how things were meant to go, but it stands as a classic example of the problems when a creative team suddenly leaves a title midflow.

Avengers West Coast #60 has been reprinted in:

• Avengers West Coast: Darker Than Scarlet (2008)
• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

Avengers West Coast 57 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

This issue continues the saga of the Scarlet Witch's descent story, though it would turn out to be the last one written and drawn by John Byrne. Entitled "Family Reunion", it appropriately adds her brother Quicksilver to the mix.

Avengers West Coast #57

Writer and penciller: John Byrne
Inker: Paul Ryan
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

But it's an interesting inversion of the family dynamics. Traditionally the Scarlet Witch was the most dovish of the three but here she's a hawk whereas by contrast Magneto only attacks when necessary and will not harm restrained foes. Even Quicksilver is advocating more caution than usual, though there are some hints that all is not as it seems with him. The issue continues the move towards restoring Magneto as a noble but ultimately villainous fighter for mutant rights, even recreating his Asteroid M base. Otherwise it serves to show just how powerful both he and his daughter are, able to shrug off rescue attempts by first the original Human Torch then Iron Man and later an assault on Asteroid M. Such is his power he simply returns the Avengers to Earth secure in the belief they will not attack again and also offers Iron Man the chance to leave them alone. Tony Stark has clearly learned from past encounters with Magneto to equip his armour with anti-magnetic devices and benefits from the current claims that the original Iron Man has been replaced, meaning Magneto doesn't expect a foe with experience of him.

For all the talk of Magneto having been reverted to his Silver Age portrayal by "Acts of Vengeance", here Byrne is writing a more complex character, acting as much as a father seeking to protect and nurture his daughter as anything else. He speaks of protecting mutantkind but explicitly draws a distinction from "the destruction of humanity" and only acts when attacked. This is much closer to the complex Magneto who tried to reform but found failure pushing him back and then declared he was as much seeking to become a target to take fire away from other mutants than this has often been written up as.

If anything, the problem is taking too much from the recent X-Men titles. Barely a year after "Inferno" and we have another story of a mother twisted by abandonment, loss of her children and manipulated by dark powers into going bad and unleashing dark magic, right down to attacking her erstwhile friends and playing on her brother-in-law's feelings. The story also seems to be running rather slowly and this issue could surely have been combined with the previous one and still get from the revelation of Wanda's transformation to the asteroid without repeated conflicts that ultimately do little to advance the plot.

It's a pity that John Byrne's last issue on the series is both slow and somewhat derivative as his handling of Magneto has especially shown there was a lot more to the debate about the character than merely the Claremont vs the Silver Age debate it's somewhat caricatured as. This is a storyline with good ideas but taking too long to get through them.

Avengers West Coast #57 has been reprinted in:

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

Avengers West Coast 56 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

Continuing the story of the Scarlet Witch's descent into darkness accompanied by Magneto there are actually three strips in this book. One back-up is a four-pager set during "Atlantis Attacks" and depicts the first modern meeting of the original Human Torch and Captain America, shown by reader demand. It's a straightforward piece showing the two war time comrades briefly reflecting on the old days, how things have changed and how both their partners have died. There's also a one-page strip (not always reprinted) in which John Byrne goes on panel to explain that Tigra's appearance in that year's annual was an error down to him getting muddled when he informed the writer which team members were available.

Avengers West Coast #56

Writer and penciller: John Byrne
Inker: Paul Ryan
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Ed.-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The main story focuses upon the Scarlet Witch who is changing in more ways than one. Capturing several of the other west coast Avengers she reveals how she has embraced her power and is preparing to take revenge on them. The scenes as she taunts and torments them are chilling, though it's probably for best that the editors modified half a page to avoid the implication that at one point she performs oral sex on Wonder Man. The big revelation is that her powers have changed. Rather than making the improbable happen, they now seem to be altering reality, such as recreating the house that was previously destroyed, bringing Wonder Man back to life and even, in the lab, altering the historic record of a sample piece of metal. Magneto also returns and it becomes clear the family reunion is a step towards a mutant-human war in which the Scarlet Witch will be on the mutants' side.

This quite a talkie issue, bringing various subplots up to date and re-establishing the Scarlet Witch's recent misfortunes. It's also pretty critical both for this storyline and the long-term history of the Marvel universe. Wanda's powers have long been poorly defined and so it helps to take time here to make clear just how they now work. At the same time after the crossover it's handy to catch up on the characters and subplots such as Tigra having gone feral and been shrunk down, as well as new ones such as the team's potential issue. But this doesn't detract from the chilling effects of the scenes of the Avengers suspended in air, prisoners of their own teammate and then a strong cliffhanger suggesting further darkness ahead. This continues to be a strong dark series.

Avengers West Coast #56 has been reprinted in:

• Avengers West Coast: Darker Than Scarlet (2008)
• Atlantis Attacks Omnibus (2011 - back-up story only)
• Avengers West Coast: Darker then Scarlet (Panini pocketbook, 2015)
• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

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)

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)

Avengers West Coast 54 - Acts of Vengeance

It had to happen. With John Byrne both writing and drawing the series and with the original Human Torch having returned, it was inevitable that there would be a cover homage to Fantastic Four #1. And this in turn drives the villains with the Mole Man appearing, accompanied by monsters such as Giganto (seen of the cover), Tricephalous and other beasts underground.

Avengers West Coast #54

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

Of course this brings up the slight problem that the Mole Man has actually fought the Avengers at least twice in the past, with first Iron Man and then the Scarlet Witch on the team. One could rationalise it that the alliance of super-villains regard the west coast Avengers as a separate team from the Avengers (for some members that would be a more hurtful blow than anything else), or that as the Scarlet Witch is comatose and Iron Man is publicly a replacement for the original then it's still an original encounter. It's notable that neither of these heroes actually get to meet the Mole Man himself. And the cover scene doesn't appear in the issue, but then again neither did that of Fantastic Four #1.

The story is based around an attack on Los Angeles by the Mole Man's creatures, with the west coast Avengers quickly scattered into several groups. Thus Iron Man sets out to remove Giganto to a safe distance, determined not to harm the creature despite the urgings of US Agent. Wonder Man and the original Human Torch investigate underground to meet with the Mole Man. And the Wasp and Hank Pym seek to protect the comatose Scarlet Witch whilst their qunijet is attacked by Tricephalous. Meanwhile Magneto observes events, unaware that he in turn is being monitored by the mysterious stranger. There's a slight twist on the regular approach of the crossover in that rather than approaching the Mole Man and offering him a trade of enemies, the leading super villains (or perhaps one amongst them) have instead provoked an attack by staging an assault on the Mole Man's Monster Island pretending to be the west coast Avengers, thus pushing him into reprisals.

This is a relatively straightforward chapter of the crossover that manages a good bit of variety to the structure of foes whilst staying true to the core concept. However this the fourth of the six issues of the two main Avengers titles and only the final page seems to advance the main storyline as the two Avengers teams compare notes and deduce that everything else is a distraction but they're under direct attack. This doesn't feel like the major step forward that the crossover needs at this stage.

Avengers West Coast #54 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)

Avengers 312 - Acts of Vengeance

With this issue of Avengers we see the central core of the crossover pulling together ever more. Significantly most of the Avengers seen here are from the west coast team (the Wasp, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision and Hank Pym) or reservists called up (the Falcon), a sign of how the attacks are continuing to occupy and cripple the Avengers' operational ability. So now would be a good time for a major attack by the alliance of leading villains.

Avengers #312

Artists: Paul Ryan and Tom Palmer
Writer: John Byrne
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Instead the alliance is squabbling. With this issue we get to see a meeting of the alliance in depth for the first time. And it's not going too well. One of the biggest criticisms of the whole alliance is that it is composed of villains with huge egos and some very different perspectives on the world. The panel showing the opening of the meeting is a glorious piece that conveys just how little the six like each other, with only the mysterious stranger holding them together, and there's a particularly nice touch in the way Magneto is staring at the Skull with undisguised hatred. Here the tensions spill over with the Red Skull and Magneto especially showing their hatred of each other and contempt for everyone else and most of the others pile in to refute the Skull's dismissal of them as "common criminals". Only Doctor Doom stands above it all. But the meeting is also a wonderful parody of the real-life world of organisations and corporations where everyone is expected to gather together in person merely to receive reports they could have been sent in writing. Absolutely nothing is achieved in this meeting though later in the issue we see the alliance watching the Avengers on monitors where it's confirmed they had nothing to do with an attack by Freedom Force and suggest taking a more active role. Luckily, we don't witness the processes of someone coming up with a motion, formally tabling it, entering in a row because of the very different meaning of the term "to table" in meetings on either side of the Atlantic, then eventually discussing the proposal etc... But overall the implication is that the limited central action is largely because of squabbling egos.

Consequently the Avengers face a group of villains who have been manipulated by the mysterious stranger without his allies' knowledge. The Blob, Pyro and Avalanche have actually fought the Avengers before in the annual that introduced Rogue and both the Vision and Scarlet Witch were on the team at the time but there's no acknowledgement of that here and instead the Avengers react like these three are an unknown quantity. Given the high profiles disagreements between the creators, one does have to wonder if John Byrne simply blanked out anything written by Chris Claremont. What should be a simple fight proves anything but, with the three villains a strong match and clearly well briefed, forcing the Avengers to find some unusual ways to take them down, especially the Blob. And all the time the fight is leading to ever greater debate amongst the public about the value of super-heroes.

This issue works well in bringing the core threads of the crossover together with the leading villains' committee meeting an especial highlight. However the clues to the mysterious stranger's identity are extremely obvious.

Avengers #312 has been reprinted in:

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

Quasar 6 - Acts of Vengeance

Although not quite the newest hero around, Quasar's low profile and restricted field of operations before he got his own series means that he hasn't attracted much attention so far. At times he seems to be the only Avenger free to deal with menaces, whether the attack on Avengers Island or here. Being relatively inexperienced (though not unskilled - he's had Shield training), it also means that most villains will not have encountered him, thus it should be easy to find foes for him

Quasar #6

Story: Mark Guenwald
Pencils: Paul Ryan
Inks: Danny Bulanadi
Letters: Janice Chiang
Colours: Paul Becton
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

So it's a surprise that one of the four he encounters in this issue is Klaw the Master of Sound who he has clashed with before in his days as head of security at Project Pegasus, which even gets referenced. However this is partially explained away as he's the only Avenger available to go and round up escapees from the Vault as they show up, rather than any of the leaders of the alliance explicitly assigning them to deal with him. Klaw ultimately only appears over three pages and drops out of the action (literally) when another foe shows up. But even this is not the quickest with Venom, prominently advertised on the cover, taken out in just the first two pages. It can be easy to forget just how quickly Venom took off, having debuted less than two years earlier (and his appearance hasn't yet been refined by Erik Larsen), and this appears to be his first appearance outside the Spider-Man titles. A glance at the cover and issue suggests that the marketing department wanted Venom prominently highlighted on the cover, hence the addition to the cover, but both Mark Gruenwald and editorial didn't care much for him, hence the rapid dismissal.

The main action comes when the Living Laser shows up to free Klaw, only to find his energy tapped by Quasar, causing him to flee and end up on the Moon. There in the Blue Area they find the home of the Watcher before Quasar finds he's disturbed a burglary by the Red Ghost. It's good to see a mixture of foes and even a cosmic entity in the series, but the bitty nature of it suggests a plot rushed together that kept on having to add foes as there's nothing really linking Venom, the Living Laser and the Red Ghost beyond encountering Quasar. None of them appear to be part of the broader operation and the Red Ghost isn't even an escapee from the Vault. Instead we just get a random set of foes in the course of Quasar's adventure as though the series is having to mark time.

As a result this is a rather disappointing chapter in the saga. This is a pity as the series is being pushed as one of the core titles due to Quasar's involvement in the Avengers (hence its presence in the main Omnibus rather than the Crossovers), but it's a reminder that large crossovers can often demand more issues of a title than there are things to do.

Quasar #6 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Quasar Classic Volume 1 (2012)
• Spider-Man Vs. Venom Omnibus (2018)

Quasar 5 - Acts of Vengeance

If there's one hero more than any other for whom it would have been easy to find foes he hasn't fought before it must surely have been Quasar. Relatively little used in his first few years before disappearing into the limbo of outer space for another five or so, his series had only going a few months when "Acts of Vengeance" came along.

Quasar #5

Story: Mark Guenwald
Pencils: Paul Ryan
Inks: Danny Bulanadi
Letters: Janice Chiang
Colours: Paul Becton
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Such is his newness to the scene that despite being a member of the Avengers he still has to explain who he is to security guards as he goes. He's also still working out how to juggle the various aspects of his life, including getting his day job business off the ground. This series was quite a personal project of writer Mark Gruenwald and the care and attention they give shows.

The first half of the issue concentrates on Quasar's Avengers activities as he works with Stingray on salvaging equipment from the sunken Avengers Island, followed by the joys of civilian life. Meanwhile the mysterious stranger at the heart of the conspiracy recruits the Absorbing Man to the scheme and gives him the power to fly by hurling his ball and chain. It's curious to see this task handled by the stranger when up to now he's largely focused on bringing the six lead villains together, but it's noticeable that he both has the power to upgrade the Absorbing Man's abilities and also knows where to find him when the latter has pulled himself from the muck in a lake. The Absorbing Man is one of the most flexible foes in the entire Marvel universe because his ability to take on the properties of whatever substance he touches means that he can reach whatever power level is necessary to provide a serious challenge. Here that becomes especially so as he absorbs the properties of variously a piece of adamantium, Quasar's energy constructs and then the quantum bands.

Quasar is competent but lacking knowledge and experience of his foe, making for quite a classic encounter in the event since the lack of knowledge proves critical. Consequently he inadvertently screws up in allowing the Absorbing Man access to critical power and then has to watch in horror as his foe absorbs a potentially explosive power then heads towards a city, resulting in a critical dilemma for Quasar as he has to work hard to stop a major explosion in a populated area. It's a tough call for him, though in the aftermath Captain America relieves some of the guilt by providing some critical knowledge that suggests things didn't quite go as Quasar thought.

This is pretty much the quintessential first issue of a title's contribution to a big crossover. It introduces the hero and his world in a way that's easily accessible for new readers without becoming a drag, takes the basic premise of the crossover and applies it to logical characters, then gives us a strong confrontation. Often crossover issues forget that they're also serving as a sampler for the series, but this one instead rises to the challenge.

Quasar #5 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Quasar Classic Volume 1 (2012)

Avengers 311 - Acts of Vengeance

We now come to the first issue written by the crossover's originator, John Byrne. Although there are multiple orders around for the crossover and some of the issues already looked at weren't published until after this one, it's still surprising to find so much of the event has already happened before its guiding hand has written their first issue. But then this isn't new - "Inferno" had a lot of build-up by Louise Simonson before Chris Claremont's first issue appeared.

Avengers #311

Artists: Paul Ryan and Tom Palmer
Writer: John Byrne
Colourist: Nelson Yomtov
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Despite Paul Ryan drawing both the cover and the story inside, the former is somewhat misleading as it features the current Avengers team when only Quasar appears in this issue. Instead the Avengers' support crew have to fight off an assault against Hydrobase, the team's current headquarters on an artificial island. Given the speed of the attack and the way that the island itself is targeted one has to wonder why the Avengers chose a base that has proven to be so vulnerable. It's also unclear from this issue (and indeed from the internet) whether the mansion on the island is the original one somehow transplanted from New York. If so then it's a rather ignominious end for the Avengers' original headquarters, destroyed with only the team's newest member and support crew to see it. But then this is from an extended period long considered one of the weakest in Avengers history. Over the course of about sixty issues between the departure of Roger Stern and the permanent arrival of Bob Harras the longest continuous run was Byrne's, at just a dozen issues (plus a plot on the next one) whilst the team line-up went through numerous changes. Bringing the Avengers low fictionally at the same time feels quite appropriate.

The assault comes from a squad of robots sent by one of the leading villains but for some strange reason the two of them shown here have their identities hidden. We've already seen some of the them without shadows and a leading villain who wears a green cloak, has a lot of scientific expertise, has lost a kingdom and is addressed as "Doctor" isn't exactly the hardest mystery villain to guess. Either the creative team aren't all singing from the same hymn sheet or else this is a homage to the paper-thin mysteries of the Silver Age. Dialogue here about many heroes having already been attacked confirms that this isn't a placing error and indeed just about all the full chronologies of "Acts of Vengeance" have issues showing at least some of the leaders before this one, so the mystery feels rather pointless. The green cloaked figure's co-conspirator's blue armour may not be as widely known but it also doesn't hide the identity from anyone who has seen it before. Meanwhile the mysterious strange who recruited the leaders of the conspiracy is shown in a setting that's somewhat suggestive of his identity, but it's probably best to wait for a full meeting of the leaders to discuss that.

As the first major part of the crossover this issue really should be doing more to anchor the overall narrative and introduce the set-up. Instead it feels like a middle chapter of an event which leaves the structure weakened. This also contains one of the biggest acts of destruction in the whole event and it's understandable that the attack happens whilst most of the Avengers are tied up elsewhere, but it might have been better to wait to first show them all caught up rather than making their absence here implied. All in all this is a stuttering start to the event.

Avengers #311 has been reprinted in:

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

Paul Ryan 1949 - 2016

I have just heard that artist Paul Ryan has passed away.

He did many series for Marvel including launching Quasar, pencilling both Avengers and Avengers West Coast simultaneously and then doing a five year stint on Fantastic Four which was still going when I started reading the title. Earlier in his career he drew every single issue of D.P.7, helping to make it the standout title of the New Universe.

Photo courtesy of Evan Scola/Wikipedia.

D.P.7 Classic volume 1

D.P.7 Classic volume 1 reprints issues #1 to #9. Everything is written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Paul Ryan. That's an incredibly consistent pair of credits compared to everything else in the early days of the New Universe.

The concept behind the series is one of a group of ordinary people suddenly gaining powers for reasons they don't understand and looking for help and hope but instead finding fear and exploitation. At the outset of the series a number of so-called "paranormals" are brought together at a clinic in Wisconsin to come to terms with the changes in their bodies and hopefully find a cure. But it soon becomes clear that the Institute for Paranormal Research serves a much more sinister purpose and upon discovering their predicament a group of seven "paranormal" people flee the clinic. This volume covers their escape and attempts to live out a life on the road in a trailer, having to deal with their powers that have often made it difficult to fit into normal society, awkward relations with their families and pursuit by the clinic.

The Displaced Paranormals (the acronym is spelt out on each issue's title page) present a very human take on what is clearly a terrifying situation for each of them. This is one of the few New Universe titles that actually does conform to the idea of the ordinary world with one single injection of powers and it works all the better for it. There's a clear aim to offer something much more than an X-Men clone with variable ages. Instead this is a tale of the personal and small scale, with each of the seven characters bringing their own diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

With only nine issues here, some characters get more development than others at this stage. Charly Beck is one of the lesser developed. A dance student who has gained the power to change friction levels, making things either sticky or slippery, she embodies optimism about the future tempered by the mess around here. One such mess comes from Dennis Cuzinski who prefers the nickname "Scuzz". A cocky fifteen-year old school drop out he now finds his entire body emits a corrosive substance that can eat through anything. A loner alienated from his parents even before he gained his powers, he now finds himself ever more isolated and angry with the rest of the group, to the point of going it alone. The worst moment comes when a woman befriends him and they kiss - only for her mouth to end up burning from the acid. Scuzz's realisation of just how alone he is makes for a very chilling moment as he sets out to take revenge on a motorbike gang in the hope of committing suicide on an exploding bike only for a surge in his power to fizzle out.

Lenore Fenzl is perhaps the most mysterious of all the seven. A retired Latin teacher whose body has developed a strange grey covering, her skin now emits a strange ray that temporarily paralyses all those who see it. Consequently she has to cover her entire body from head to toe, including a mask and wig. The power seems to be growing in strength and exciting her, a development that both excites and horrifies her. Also experiencing a growth in her power levels is Stephanie Harrington, a young housewife and mother who finds herself now carrying a great deal of energy that strengthens her and can be transmitted to others by physical contact, revitalising and often healing them. But with this has come a strange glowing effect that becomes ever harder to hide. Her husband is horrified by these changes and bundles her off to the clinic; when she returns he calls the clinic. Meanwhile Stephanie's mother-in-law is looking after her three children - and poisoning their minds against their mother.

David Landers has a better relationship with the one member of his family whom we meet, his uncle who trades in Dave's two year old but much rusted by Scuzz trailer for a separate camper van, allowing the group more flexibility of travel. David is a worker in a cheese factory who suddenly finds his body and muscles growing at an incredible rate, turning him into a lumbering giant with initial huge pain from his muscles. A solid dependable everyman he becomes the groups' foundation, also supply the transport by which they get around. If there's a leader to the group it's Randy O'Brien, but he rapidly shows just how little authority he has with wildly varying priorities and ethics amongst the seven. A doctor in the late stages of training, his instinct is to help others, preserve life and avoid stealing but these values aren't always compatible with the situations the group finds themselves in. Contained within his body is a strange "anti-body", a dark, silent intangible figure that emerges from his body to travel at long distances, spy and impart information to others. It's a strange being that appears to have a life of its own and by the end of the volume its prolonged absence leaves Randy feeling notably weakened and empty.

Finally Jeff Walters is a fast food manager whose body has developed incredible speed but it's no fancy speedster power. Instead he finds himself literally unable to stay still for a second, with only Lenore's power working to slow him down, and his metabolism develops to the point where he has to consume an incredible amount every day just to survive, and thus often has to steal to get the food he needs. A wily prankster, his humour can grate at times yet often he's able to see a way through a close situation. He tries to maintain contact with his family and at one stage takes the rest of the group to his hometown in the hope that an exorcist can cure them.

The volume covers the groups' escape from the clinic and attempts to evade recapture, along with their travails as they try to survive on the road and handle relations with their families. The clinic sends multiple agents after them, including a few paranormals with abilities such as projecting psycho plasm or being able to reverse and object's motion, along with more generic bounty hunters. Elsewhere there are problems with various local pests such as a motorcycle gang or a bizarre killing club of youths that are slaughtering livestock and collecting organs. Attempts to reunite with family members don't always go well, with a lot of trouble stemming from Stephanie's husband. There are also tensions within the group themselves as they squabble over what to do but also growing bonds such as David's crush on Stephanie and Charly's on Randy. Repeatedly this is a world where actions have nasty consequences, especially when David or Jeff hit out and cause very brutal injuries. This is a title that never once forgets that it is about ordinary people in an ordinary world that have suddenly had extraordinariness thrust upon them.

This volume only contains the first nine issues and so the tale of the group's escape and evasion from the clinic is only partially told with more clearly to come. But what has been shown is a series with a strong concept and character base that offers lots of strong possibilities for development as well as showing a very different take on a tale of people suddenly gaining incredible powers. The stability of the creative team helps as the book manages to stick to a consistent course and not veer off all over the place. It's a series that works well in living up to the overall vision of the New Universe.