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 Mantis announces the Cotati have withdrawn into the realm of pure thought and only she has the training to follow them so she says goodbye to the Surfer and abandons her body to enter the realm.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.

West Coast Avengers Annual 3 - The Evolutionary War

The West Coast Avengers have split in two as the High Evolutionary's plans step up a gear.

West Coast Avengers Annual #3

This annual is unusual in that instead of one big story focused on The Evolutionary War followed by some shorter back-ups it has two separate stories from the war. This is because it came out at a point where the West Coast Avengers had split with Mockingbird, Tigra and Moon Knight leaving the others amidst the break-up of Mockingbird and Hawkeye's marriage. It's notable that all three of Steve Englehart's annuals are set very specifically between issues of the relevant ongoing titles which helps continuity and those constructing chronologies but it can also present a slightly confusing status quo. Here the details of the split are not gone into and instead we have two tales of the separate factions that both end with the same scene of Hawkeye's team discovering a hole in the Savage Land.

1st story: Head you lose --!
Story: Steve Englehart
Layouts: Al Milgrom
Finishes: Gerry Talaoc
Letters: Bill Oakley
Colors: Marc Siry
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Chief: Tom DeFalco

The first story focuses on the High Evolutionary's attempts to steal a supply of vibranium from the Black Panther's kingdom of Wakanda. One of his technicians turns out to be Bill Foster, the former second Giant Man, who hides a note on one of the Gatherers who are easily defeated by the Wakanda forces. The note informs the Panther there is a much bigger scheme afoot and to call in Hank Pym. Pym himself is unavailable but the rump of the West Coast Avengers arrive and face down another squad of the Evolutionary's called the "Sensors" - Sight, Touch, Sound, Smell, Taste and Intuition - who battle the team whilst the vibranium is stolen.

This story is particularly notable for making use of previous chapters and we see there was a purpose to the High Evolutionary's restoration of the Savage Land back in X-Men Annual #12 as he is now operating out of a base there so it's good to see later chapters of the saga building on earlier events. It's also notable for the odd way Mantis is written with very little dialogue even in panels when she is the main focus and clearly drawn to be speaking. This was reportedly another effect of the breakdown in relations between Englehart and his editors with Mantis at the centre of the storm.

Unfortunately the short length of this story combined the initial scenes set in the Evolutionary's base and the battle between the Gatherers and the Wakandan forces means the official West Coast Avengers are only seen for eleven pages of their own annual. The split nature of the team and the story may have created such a constraint but the outcome is a rather slight contribution by one side.


2nd story: Tales you win!
Story: Steve Englehart
Layouts: Al Milgrom
Finishes: Chris Ivy
Letters: Bill Oakley
Colors: Marc Siry
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Chief: Tom DeFalco

The breakaway team have travelled to the Savage Land for reasons not given here and spend the first part of the story meeting with Kazar and learning how the Savage Land was restored before deciding to investigate the Evolutionary and his base. They just knock on the door and are surprised to be let in and taken to the Evolutionary himself who calmly announces his plan as, "I'm building a bomb which, when detonated, will mutate everyone on Earth!" He subdues them with gas and puts them into a hi-tech maze to test their suitability for genetic experiments. All three quickly overcome the respective robot sent to deal with them but Tigra and Moon Knight seem to spend too much time interested in each other's company to advance far through the maze and so only Mockingbird reaches the Evolutionary who expands in size. But so do does Bill Foster who resumes his role of Giant Man (although not the costume despite what the cover shows). With the vibranium captured in the other story the Evolutionary opts to relocate to build his bomb and so abandons the base, blowing it up.

The return of Giant Man is clearly meant to be a big thing in the annual with both stories quickly summarising his origin (and his original risky name of "Black Goliath) and also how he contracted cancer but was cured by a transfusion from the original Spider-Woman; however his body could no longer stand the strain of size changing. However he infiltrated the Evolutionary's operations to use the equipment to develop a serum to restore growth and use the gained mass to cleanse his body. There's a bit too much technobabble about how it works but the result is that a real life terminal disease is cured through fantastical elements which is a bit insensitive (although up to the transfusion the detail was first shown in earlier comics rather than here).

This chapter is more focused on the series's actual characters and provides some good action scenes. Unfortunately it fails to explain just why they happen to be in the Savage Land in the first place and the way Tigra and Moon Knight seemingly hook up in the middle of the maze does neither character any favours. But it does take a strong step forward to advance the Evolutionary's plans rather than being yet another side element in the overall scheme. The split narrative allows for different elements of the story to be given equal weight but it comes at the effect of atomising the individual strands so that neither feels too satisfactory. This is an innovation in story telling that doesn't work.

3rd story: The High Evolutionary: The Final Frontier
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The saga has now reached the original stories featuring the High Evolutionary. Curiously very little of his first appearance in the pages of Thor is retold here and instead the chapter opens with the Citadel of Science launching for the stars at the end of his encounter. Then we see how out in pace the Evolutionary found a new planet and settled there with the New Men, mutating more animals to provide them with wives and leaving them to build the world whilst he continued with his experiments. But instead the New Men devolved into savagery and he had to find a being to bring order to the planet - who turned out to be the Hulk. But the Evolutionary was mortally wounded in battle and could only survive by submitting himself to the genetic accelerator becoming a being of pure thought.

There's less to say about this chapter as it's recounting mid Silver Age stories that had the same writer and a greater element of consistency compared to the massive accumulation of back story the first eight chapters had to wade through. It's a pity the Evolutionary's first appearance is not recounted in more detail as it would be interesting to see how readers first encountered him. Also omitted is an explanation as to how he managed to stay looking so young when he would have been in his 60s or even older at the time of these tales. Instead we get the first big sign that the Evolutionary has made mistakes with his New Men not proving the successful new race he hoped for and the first sign of how he would repeatedly have to turn to outside help to get the products of his experiments under control.

Also included is a pin-up gallery which takes a more whimsical approach than most. There's also the unused cover for issue #14 (which was replaced by the line-wide 25th anniversary format of a headshot of a single character in a uniform frame).

Overall this annual is aiming high but rather misses the target. It's trying a different formula for telling the story but it results in two separate chapters that each feel in substantial when a combined single tale could have felt much stronger. This also pushes out any back-up stories that could have enhanced the overall feel of the special and the result is a bit of a disappointment.

Fantastic Four Annual 21 - The Evolutionary War

Multiple higher powers demand that Crystal returns to her husband.

As noted on Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22 that annual and this one have the lead and back-up features in opposite orders. So I'm publishing these post simultaneously to keep the sequences as clear as possible.

Fantastic Four Annual #21

1st story: Crystal Blue Persuasion
Story: Steve Englehart
Breakdowns: Kieron Dwyer
Finishes: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Lopez
Colors: Wright
Editor: Macchio
Chief: DeFalco

This annual comes from one of the more unusual periods of Fantastic Four history. Steve Englehart had shaken up the team by retiring Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman off to spend more time raising their son and in their placed added Crystal and the second Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura). Ms. Marvel had then been transformed into a female version of the Thing whilst the Thing (Ben Grimm) himself had been subject to an even further mutation into an almost pineapple form. And there were multiple tensions surrounding the Four. Not long before Englehart's run began the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) had married Alicia Masters, once Ben Grimm's long-term girlfriend. Now Johnny was on a team with his first true girlfriend Crystal, estranged from her husband Quicksilver (Pietro... his surname seems to wander between Maximoff, Magnus and Frank reflecting the numerous revelations and retcons about his parentage over the years) after an affair. It was quite a different set-up from before.

Whether it was more popular is disputed. The opening scene sees the Four's robotic receptionist Roberta hand the Thing fan mail and declare "I can't get over how popular the team has become since you revamped it!", a claim that is similarly reflected on Englehart's website. But others have pointed to the figures in the annual Statement of Ownership showing the title's sales were flatlining or even declining. And when at the start of 1988 Marvel introduced a two-tier pricing on their regular titles by raising the cover price on the nine top sellers, Fantastic Four was noticeably absent from the list. It wouldn't be the first or last time that the sales figures surrounding a controversial period are in dispute but it's unusual to find one side's claims so blatantly placed in the title itself.

(It will come as little surprise that the nine titles that had the price raised all have annuals in The Evolutionary War - the three Spider-Man titles, the three mutant books, Silver Surfer, Punisher and Avengers. Fantastic Four and West Coast Avengers - the third title written by Englehart at this time - were the only other two regular superhero series so blessed.)

And that's part of wider disputes that are partially well known because Englehart has put his side of the story out there including on his own website, though his editors' position is not so well known. Editor Ralph Macchio is interviewed by Tom DeFalco in the latter's Comics Creators on Fantastic Four (London; Titan Books, 2005) and is specifically asked about Englehart's eventual departure but just alludes to creative differences without being specific - "We had a part of the ways, creatively. I remember there was a storyline he embarked on and I knew right away that we were beginning to see the characters differently. There were stories that he wanted to do that just didn't work for me. I liked a lot of his run, but I didn't like the way he wanted to go so I made a change." (p.166) Englehart is not interviewed in the book but the-then regular artist (although not drawing the annual) Keith Pollard is. He doesn't comment on Englehart's departure directly but notes that he was told sales were up and fine but later heard a rumour third hand that he had been fired and discovered that Macchio wanted to bring back the traditional line up "in a bid to increase sales". (p.71)

It would appear that ultimately the problem was that Englehart had signed up for a run when Don Daley was Editor and Jim Shooter Editor-in-Chief but almost immediately they were replaced by Macchio and DeFalco respectively and once everyone was fully settled in disputes emerged over which way the series should go. It is not unusual for new management to not agree with or stick to what their predecessors had agreed and this has led to many a dispute. This is not the last time we'll be encountering Englehart's writing in a rather extended departure from Marvel and we'll see a number of effects of this departure as we go.

Here the main effect is the enforced writing out of Crystal from the team as her family, the Royal Family of the Inhumans, turn up and simply demand she return to her husband and family on the Moon. It is a very blunt assertion of authority perhaps reflecting the behind the scenes struggle and the result is a battle between the Four and the Royal Family. Meanwhile the High Evolutionary arrives on the Moon seeking to steal the mutagenic Terrigen Mist to advance his schemes. This leads to a brief encounter with Uatu the Watcher in which the whole event so far is recapped (hence why the disconnect between the order of the lead and back-up strips stands out) though a few errors appear in recapping the events of New Mutants Annual #4 and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22. The battle between the Evolutionary's forces and the Inhumans is fierce with Quicksilver taking a leadership role and turning the tide, earning redemption amongst his in-laws. In the aftermath Black Bolt tries a new tactic with Crystal and actually talks her into staying. The rest of the Four depart for home.

This annual is firmly wedged between issues of the regular series and so references to a quest into the Negative Zone to find a race of aliens called the Beyonders can be a little confusing to the visiting reader, as is an appearance by a second Watcher who seems about to reveal where the Evolutionary and his forces have teleported away to until Uatu suddenly intervenes to stop him. But in general this story manages to work well as a big development for the team and stand alone sufficiently well. However as the first chapter of The Evolutionary War in which the High Evolutionary has taken an active role in the field it's a surprisingly low key encounter with the battle serving more to drive the character developments for Quicksilver than to seriously advance the lead villain's plans.


2nd story: Crystal
Story: Edward L. Norton
Breakdowns: Jackson Guice
Finishes: Jose Marzan
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Chief: Tom DeFalco

"Edward L. Norton" has a history of being used as a pseudonym in various Marvel issues. Here it hints at the dispute over the series. This is a very odd little story where the dialogue and pictures rarely seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet, suggesting a significant rewrite. It would appear that this story was meant to establish Crystal agreeing to go with the Fantastic Four to see out their quest with the Beyonders but was instead rewritten so that she stays permanently on the Moon with Quicksilver and the Inhumans. In story Crystal is even told that she is expected to look as though she likes living with her husband to set a public example. It's hard to not think of real life Royals also forced into such public displays of affection despite private strife even though this annual came out a few years before some of the most famous revelations.

Quicksilver had been on an odd character journey through the 1980s in large part because Englehart didn't agree with him being a hero and not always accepting other writers' attempts to row the character back. So at times he was written as mad and other times this was explained as the influence of the insane Inhuman Maximus the Mad only for later Englehart stories to revert the character to villainy. Here he's shown regaining his speed powers which had been temporarily constrained by a mental block but he's also shown acting suspiciously when at the end of the story he leaks details of the Fantastic Four's quest to none other than Doctor Doom. The dialogue has him stating that he wants revenge on Kristoff, the other Doom who is currently ruling Latveria, and that an empowered Doom is best placed to defeat him but this reads so oddly that it is almost certainly a rewrite of the script working against the dialogue.

As a result we're left with a short story that's trying to settle Crystal back into married life but it just doesn't hold together well because of all the conflicting forces pulling on it.


3rd story: The High Evolutionary: Silver and Crimson
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez & Joe Albelo
Colors: Gregory Wright
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is more of a straightforward single incident chapter as Herbert Edgar Wyndham finally encounters the Werewolf that killed Merriam Drew and creates his armour in order to protect himself in future encounters then captures it when it later invades the citadel. However it seems to have driven away the Moloids for good. The biggest developments come in side moments as we learn that Jonathan Drew has departed in grief, even though he has left his daughter behind in suspended animation, and that the uranium mine has generated enough wealth to buy the most advanced technology and expertise available.

It's a good attempt to explain just how a man from the 1930s could have come up with all the long-term technology the High Evolutionary has been shown to have over the years but it does ring a little hollow to suggest the solution was merely wealth. However the alternative would have required adding either another mysterious benefactor or some alien influence which doesn't quite fit with the character's outlook. Otherwise this chapter is straightforward and the only real problem is the out of sequence printing.

Other material includes a pin-up gallery by Keith Pollard and Joe Sinnott of the Fantastic Four and other key characters including the Invisible Woman (who expresses her surprise at some recent letters to the comic) and Crystal who declares "I'll never leave again!" with an editor's note explaining "this feature was compiled before the astounding events of this issue". It's another sign of the conflict over the direction of this series. Sadly this conflict means the annual as a whole is a rather disappointing package even though the lead story works well on its own.

Silver Surfer Annual 1 - The Evolutionary War

The Surfer comes back to Earth to have his DNA mapped.

Silver Surfer Annual #1

1st story: Adam
(At least that's what the internet thinks this story is called. The title lettering is extremely hard to read.)
Story: Steve Englehart
Pencils: Joe Staton
Inks: Joe Rubinstein
Letters: Ken Bruzenak
Colors: Tom Vincent
Editor: Craig Anderson
Chief: Tom DeFalco

Silver Surfer was the other big new successful series of this time and again one that's difficult to fit into a major Earth based crossover event. The whole thrust of the series was to get the Surfer away from Earth and into outer space where he encountered all the major cosmic races and entities. Meanwhile the High Evolutionary is focused on a plan to advance life on Earth. Somehow these two very different approaches have to matched.

The solution was to have the Evolutionary interested in the genetics of humanoids and seek to have the Silver Surfer's DNA mapped. For this he turns up at Olympia, home of the Eternals, and talks these beings into agreeing to undertake the task. Meanwhile the Surfer has decided to return to Earth to find the son of his recently deceased girlfriend Mantis though once he reaches the planet this gets forgotten for the rest of the annual.

Part of the complication is that this annual, more than most in this period, is wedged firmly into the ongoing narrative of the regular series. As a result the Surfer suddenly has to find a reason to be brought to Earth and then forget about it, before continuing his regular adventures. To tie things in with the regular narrative even further this issue also sees the resurrection of the Super Skrull, who has been spending a long time as disembodied radioactive particles orbiting the Earth but has now been resurrected as he could potentially restore his race's ability to change shape. Consequently this annual feels more like a special of the regular series than a chapter in an ongoing saga. It also brings the Surfer into contact with one of the most confusing sets of beings in the Marvel universe, the Eternals.

The Eternals were created by Jack Kirby during his mid 1970s return to Marvel and the series reflected his interest in the ancient astronauts theory that postulated Earth had been visited by aliens long in the past and much mythology was based on these meetings. As recounted by the Evolutionary in the opening pages the Eternals were created by the Celestials as an advanced race and went on to inspire many legends. The problem is that the series appeared to be intended by Kirby to take place in its own universe but later Marvel writers incorporated it into regular continuity which threw up its own problems, not least because the Marvel universe already depicted the Greek Gods and other pantheons as actual beings and so the Eternals had to co-exist with them and be confused for them. There's a brief attempt to try to unpick this mess here when the Surfer tells the Eternals that during his exile he spent time on Olympia and the Eternals' city that has reportedly existed for thousands of years simply wasn't there then but this annual would prove to be the series's only encounter with the Titans of Olympia (although their cousins on Titan would appear many times under later writers) and the revelation is not followed up on. The Eternals themselves are not very impressive, being easily talked into agreeing to map the Surfer's DNA to help the High Evolutionary's plan with no signs of coercion or any real exploration as to why they find his vision attractive. Later the Surfer is able to talk his way into leaving with no great debate either.

There's a real retro feel to this annual, right down to its use of the 1960s series logo instead of the current one and a strong homage to Kirby in the artwork whilst the story is the Surfer's first full adventure on Earth since his exile was lifted. Unfortunately it can't hide the sheer pointlessness of the tale. The Super Skrull's revival could have been handled in the regular series whilst the High Evolutionary doesn't return at the end so the entire attempt to map the Surfer's DNA is ultimately redundant to the general scheme. Big crossover events often wander into series that are ill fitted for them and have a completely inconsequential and forgettable encounter and this is a strong example of this.


2nd story: Nova! Moth to the Flame
Story: Steve Englehart
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Chris Ivy
Letters: Ken Bruzenak
Colors: Tom Vincent
Editor: Craig Anderson
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Nova arrives back at Galactus's ship to find her master in pain. He needs very specific help and charges her with contacting the Silver Surfer to find Sue Richards.

This isn't so much a story as a bridging scene to set-up the storyline in the next few issues of the regular series and also to get the Surfer back from Earth. It's also notable for being Ron Lim's first work on the series that would go on to make his name though here he's drawing Nova and Galactus far more than the Surfer. As a result there's not too much to say about this tale beyond how it continues the pattern of firmly anchoring this annual into the narrative of the regular series although at the cost of confusion for passing readers since how Galactus came to eat the Elders is not explained whilst the Surfer rapidly forgets his search for Mantis's son. Otherwise it's a nice showcase for the series's new artist.


3rd story: Mantis!
Story: Steve Englehart
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Randy Emberlin
Letters: Ken Bruzenak
Colors: Tom Vincent
Editor: Craig Anderson
Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is another brief scene as Mantis wakes up having lost her memory of all the events since her wedding to the Cotati and finds herself living on Earth under the name "Mandy Celestine" and lacking her empathy with plants. So she remembers her human friends and sets out to find the Avengers.

There's a bit more to say on this one. A pin-up elsewhere in the annual presents Mantis as dead (she was seemingly killed in issue #9 of the regular series) which hints at a great struggle to get her back into the series over editorial objections and we'll see the character again in both of the other series written by Englehart at this time, West Coast Avengers and Fantastic Four. Steve Englehart's website details his side of some of this but to the best of my knowledge his various editors have not put their version out there in as much detail though Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story does give a rather different reason for why Englehart left West Coast Avengers. But whatever the truth of the behind the scenes situation the result is that over the next few months Mantis will leap from title to title as she searches for her memories and her son. Here the character's amnesia works to cover up


4th story: The High Evolutionary: The Men, The Mine, The Mountain!
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Paris Cullins
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The saga continues with the land in the Balkans now identified as the site of Mount Wundagore. This begins to hint at the problems ahead because many different characters have had aspects of their backstories linked to the mountain over the years and this saga has to untangle them all. Here were see Herbert Edgar Wyndham and Jonathan Drew discovering a seam of uranium that will finance their plans and commissioning a citadel from a scientist who also wants to build an interplanetary spacecraft. There's some pretty advanced ideas for events set in the early 1930s as we learn the planned Citadel of Science will be able to travel into space itself. Meanwhile the mountain is plagued by a mysterious creature and Wyndham's mysterious benefactor returns to gift him Moloid workers to dig the mine and build the Citadel before disappearing.

This saga is starting to wade through the quagmire and it could do with some more helpful narrative captions. The mysterious stranger who gave Wyndham the genetic code and then the Moloids is never named and a caption tells us Wyndham never discovered who he was which means a key part of the story is simply explained away as a stranger wanting to foster scientific advancement. The scientist who designs the Citadel would appear to be an established character from the Marvel universe but he's using the German name "Horce Grabsheid" and is not explicitly identified as who he will become. As a result of too much info being dumped instead of explained this is the least satisfactory chapter of the saga so far.

Other material includes a gallery of pin-ups all by incoming penciller Ron Lim and inked by Joe Rubinstein. Details are given about each of the key characters in the series. Overall this is an okay Silver Surfer annual with good back-up features and a main story by the regular writer that seeks to advance ongoing plots but once again it's a very poor fit for The Evolutionary War event which really needs some chapters of much greater substance.

Essential Thor volume 7

Essential Thor volume 7 contains issues #248 to #271 (issue #254 was a reprint represented here by the cover and a copy of the apology caption) plus Annuals #5 and #6. Bonus material includes an unused cover for issue #264. The writing is nearly all by Len Wein, including one annual, with one issue co-plotted and scripted by Roger Stern, a couple of back-up tales written by David Anthony Kraft and the other annual written by Steve Englehart. The art is mainly by John Buscema, Tony Dezuniga and Walter Simonson with the back-ups by Pablo Marcos whilst one annual is by John Buscema and the other by Sal Buscema.

The first annual in this volume is quite a curiosity, sitting outside the present day narrative and maybe outside of continuity altogether. It starts with a prologue that narrates the creation story from Norse mythology, showing how the worlds came about and Odin's rise to power. Then it embarks upon an alternate telling of the first encounter between Thor and Hercules, with Loki manipulating the situation to provoke conflict between Asgard and Olympus but Odin and Zeus have their own plans. It's also shown how each set of gods is reliant upon worship and the Asgardian attempt to capture the Ancient Greeks' loyalties completely flounders. The implication, though not explicitly stated, is that each set of gods were created by the worship of their followers, bringing the mythology to life, hence the contradictions created by their simultaneous existence. The story is also one of the first to rewrite modern Marvel history by showing a very different first encounter with Hercules from the original annual, but hand waves this away by pointing to the confusion and uncertainties of mythology that throw up stories that directly contradict one another. This tale was originally written for a black and white magazine series that never happened and then got modified into colour for the annual so it's nice to see it as close to the original intention as is now possible. The art is some of the best in the whole volume, showing John Buscema at his most mythic.

The other annual is, in itself, more mundane fare but would go on to have a big influence outside the title. It sees Thor transported to the future where he winds up in a team-up the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle Korvac, previously seen in the pages of the Defenders but who would go on to be a significant player in the Guardians' own timeline. This annual seems a rather tame beginning but it would subsequently form the basis for one of the most memorable of Avengers storylines. Otherwise it's a typical example of the annuals of the mid Bronze Age and its placing here between issues #266 and #267 is a little surprising as it pre-empts Thor's return to Earth. The two-part back-up "Tales of Asgard" is also tame, telling of how a young Thor learnt there is more to battle than weapons and that he must always use his brains first.

But the main interest comes in the regular issues as this volume contains an eighteen part epic saga (with the reprint falling one third of the way through) that focuses upon Odin's displacement from the throne of Asgard and his eventual return. Apart from some brief comedy at the outset, most notably the scene where Thor sorts out a traffic jam by physically lifting each car out and carrying it to the correct lane, this saga is set completely off Earth. Instead it combines Asgard, the various other realms such as Valhalla or Nornhein and a quest into deep space. The length may seem off-putting but it's never billed as a single piece and instead sees a series of adventures starting with the problems in Asgard due to Odin seemingly going corrupt and mad under the influence of new advisor Igron, then follows a search for the real Odin whilst Balder seeks to uphold the realm against an attack, concluding in a showdown back in Asgard.

It's a storyline with ambition but also at times it seems a little too willing to use almost every single aspect of the Thor stories that isn't connected to Earth, and even one or two that are. So for much of the epic Thor is allied with Sif and the Warriors Three with additional help from variously Balder, Karnilla, the Grand Vizier, Hildegarde and the Recorder. Many of the longstanding villains return, including Mangog, Hela, Ulik, the Grey Gargoyle, Amora the Enchantress, Skurge the Executioner, Loki and the Destroyer armour. There's even a return of the Stone Men from Saturn whom Thor battled in his very first appearance. The quest itself brings another piece of mythic conceit as Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three embark aboard the Starjammer (the name just predates the group from X-Men), a space ship that looks like, and is piloted as though it were, a Viking sailing ship. Towards the end of the quest it's fitted out with weaponry, but it still makes for a striking visual that reinforces that the Asgardian civilisation is built on magic, not science. And there's a strong menace, with even Ragnarok being threatened when Mangog arranges to have the Odinsword in its scabbard placed beneath the stolen throne so that he can kick the sword out and trigger the great destruction in the event of being overwhelmed.

But as well as all the returns there are lots of new ideas, with Mangog's restored power depending upon the worship of the Asgardians due to his disguise as Odin, and his downfall comes when he acts in anger to destroy their trust. Hela allows Thor to walk free of her realm as she reasons death would be preferable to what is to come to him. In space the quintet come across a derelict spaceship where the weaker passengers are being picked off by a monstrous tentacled beast called Sporr - but not for the reason everyone assumes. The Grey Gargoyle turns up as the captain of a ship of anthropomorphic animal space pirates. There's a dying alien race who seek to use the Asgardians' life-forces and magics to revive their fortunes, worshipping Thor and the others even whilst sending them to their deaths.

Less original moments come when the epic mines either the well-worn clichés of fables or the more predictable elements of the series itself. At one stage Thor petitions the spirit Mimir for the real Odin's location and is sent on a quest for a jewel; in the process Thor is forced to sacrifice the jewel to save the Trolls from the beast called Trogg having pledged to save them another way in order to prevent fighting over the jewel. Astonishingly Mimir gives him the information anyway, as the real quest was not for the jewel but to show Thor was worthy. This secret test of character has been done too many times in mythology to not be predictable. And there's the revelation that the mastermind behind the Enchantress and Executioner's attack on Asgard is none other than Loki, who once again secures the throne. Loki has frankly been done to death in the series and it would have been a greater surprise had he not appeared in this saga. Instead it makes the last few issues quite a comedown. There's an attempt to enhance his villainy with a moment when he sends the Enchantress and Executioner to their apparent deaths, but otherwise it's business as usual.

One of the more unfortunate effects of such a lengthy saga is the disappearance of Jane Foster as a character with barely a word. She insists on coming to Asgard with Thor and the others, pointing to Sif's spirit within her giving her strength, but once there she picks up Sif's sword and finds that when she slams it against the wall she is replaced by the goddess herself. Although the relationship between Donald Blake and Thor was messy for years and subject to retcons, there was a time when it seemed that the two were different personalities with separate histories who alternated, but this was never fully explored before it was established Thor had been Blake all along. Now for the first time we get the potential alternation of two distinct characters who cannot be so easily retconned into the same person, with the added complication that they are rivals for Thor's affections. There is a huge amount of potential in this... so it's a pity that Jane is forgotten for the rest of the volume and Sif treated as the sole entity occupying the body. When Thor opts to return to Earth Sif stays behind with no mention of Jane; nor is her absence addressed on Earth as Donald Blake seeks to re-establish himself there. It's as though she's been forgotten by all including the writer; a very arbitrary solution to the long running question of which of the two women is the right one for Donald/Thor, seemingly destroying a character in the process and ignoring all the potential story possibilities that could stem from the different aims and objectives of Jane and Sif.

But in spite of the individual problems, overall this storyline is fairly strong. Because of the twists and turns it's entirely possible to come in midway without missing important details for later, and so back in the 1970s this must have been more of a treat than an infuriation with the length, but it's all the better for having been collected in a single volume rather than being broken across more than one collection as indeed some releases do.

The last few issues see Thor return to Earth on his own, Odin having given the Warriors Three another mission that keeps them away whilst Sif also remains in Asgard. On Earth Thor finds he's been away for over a year (which will give the chronology mappers a headache), the building his surgery was in has been torn down and his regular patients scattered. Thus there's a clean slate for Donald Blake's life on Earth, though within these issues the only step taken is the suggestion of volunteering at a free clinic. Otherwise Thor battles a variety of foes he's not faced before, including the techno criminal Damocles, Stilt-Man, Blastaar and the computer F.A.U.S.T. The Damocles story is well constructed in the way it focuses upon the criminal and his brother Eric in conflict without being explicit in comparisons with Loki and Thor, and the climax where Eric finds himself with no option but to shoot his brother is very moving. Otherwise the adventures form a mini-epic as Stilt-Man is manipulated by Blastaar who in turn is manipulated by F.A.U.S.T. Stilt-Man has a new set of armour with a number of upgrades that make at least a semi-credible foe but Thor's power level means intervention by Blastaar is necessary. The chain of manipulation and betrayal eventually culminates in F.A.U.S.T. building itself a spaceship to attack humanity from orbit. But the conclusion feels rushed and undermining the title character as he turns to the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. for help. It would have made a much better ending to the story and the whole volume if Thor had tackled and defeated the menace on his own.

Although there are some individual letdowns in the volume, overall it's very strong and shows a very good use of many of the series's elements yet doesn't deploy every single one of them. The grand epic is the high point of not just this volume but this period of Thor as a whole and having it all in one place makes for a very strong volume.

Essential Fantastic Four volume 7 - creator labels

Once again we have a volume with lots of creators so here's an extra post to carry the labels for some of them.

Essential Avengers volume 7

Essential Avengers volume 7 consists of issues #141 to #163 and Annual #6 plus Super-Villain Team-Up #9. The writing see Steve Englehart finish his run to be followed by Gerry Conway and then Jim Shooter, with a few issues seeing overlaps and #150 incorporating part of issue #16 scripted by Stan Lee. The main story in the annual is by Englehart and a back-up by Scott Edelman whilst the Super-Villain Team-Up is written by Bill Mantlo. The bulk of the art, including the main story in the annual, is by George Pérez with other issues by Don Heck, Keith Pollard, John Buscema and Sal Buscema, with issue #150 reusing part of the Jack Kirby drawn #16, the annual back-up by Herb Trimpe and the Super-Villain Team-Up by Jim Shooter.

I don't normally comment on the other credits in a volume but there's a notable disjoint in this volume and it appears to come right around the period of Editor-in-Chiefship that can be dubbed "The Conway Weeks". I say "appears" because until the late 1970s, after the end of this volume, Marvel was rather loose with the credit "editor", sometimes giving it to a series's regular writer (even on fill-in issues by other writers), sometimes to another staff member who now appears on the canonical list of Editors-in-Chief which seems to involve some retroactive determination, and sometimes to someone else altogether. As a result it's difficult to determine at a glance just when one Editor-in-Chief replaced another, particularly in the period from 1972 to 1978 when there were no less than seven in post and one could be credited for a few months on material all basically approved under their predecessor. But here there seems to be a clear point of changeover with consequences engulfing the series as a long-term regular writer suddenly drops out to be replaced by the incoming then outgoing Editor-in-Chief who then lasts barely half a year, to be succeeded by another staffer who would go on to be Editor-in-Chief when the music finally stopped. The result is an example of an all too common situation in comics whereby big ideas and plans from one writer get taken up by another with minimal interest in them, grand storylines get finished by different hands and in different ways from those intended by those who started them, and there's fill-ins and reprints at completely the worst moments. All this contributes to a volume that is trying to live up to the levels of its predecessor, admittedly quite a daunting task in itself, but which instead winds up plodding along.

The worst moments are the aforementioned fill-ins. Issue #144 is part of the Serpent Crown saga and ends on a critical moment as the Avengers set off for the Squadron Supreme's home dimension. Yet this cliffhanger is not continued until issue #147 and in the meantime we get a two-part fill-in that openly leaves the question of its place in chronology up to the readers as they endure a two-part fill-in as the mysterious Assassin seeks to take the team down one by one. Given its length it may have been prepared for Giant-Size Avengers before that series switched to all reprints or else for an annual, but its presence here is just an irritating interruption. Also suffering is issue #150, where the cover promises "A Spectacular 150th Anniversary Special" but inside what was clearly structured as an extended meeting to refine the active team membership interspersed with a news reporter taking us through the history of the team in bite-sized chunks is instead paused after just six pages and the rest of the issue is padded out with sixteen pages lifted from Avengers #16, reliving the first major change in the membership. There's no denying the significance of that issue, and in later years of giant-sized anniversary issues with some reprints it would have been an obvious candidate for inclusion, but here it just shows itself up as being used as padding in what must have been one of the most eagerly anticipated issues at the time. Issue #151 has the rest of the issue with some drawn out bits to make up the extra pages but overall the whole thing is a very disappointing end to Steve Englehart's run on the series.

Englehart's last issues are not as well known as his earlier ones, and are dominated by the first part of the Serpent Crown saga. Building upon a plot device from other series we get an interdimensional tale in which the Serpent Crown is linked to its counterparts across other dimensions, leading to an encounter with the Squadron Supreme under the most obvious of titles - "Crisis on Other Earth", though the following issue's "20,000 Leagues under Justice" is also less than subtle. The Squadron Supreme's role as a pastiche of the Justice League of America has never been more obvious than here, with a further team member introduced in the form of the Amphibian, clearly the counterpart of Aquaman. Also show is the Squadron's base, a satellite orbiting the Earth. More surprising are the main agents the crowns operate through. On the normal Earth the crown is worn by Hugh Jones, of the Brand Corporation, but on the Squadron's Earth the crown is worn by the President of the United States, who here is none other than Nelson Rockefeller - this world apparently never having experienced Richard Nixon. What the real Rockefeller, then Vice President, thought of this is not known but it was a kind of success after three failed bids for the Presidency. I wonder who would be placed in the role if the story were created today? Next year may show who the perennial also ran candidate is. The story also allows for some polemicism as the Beast lectures the Squadron on blindly accepting orders from politicians and businessmen, to the point that when the Avengers return home the Squadron declines to pursue them. Thus it's only the Avengers who face down Brand in the initial climax, in which the corporation deploys Namor's old foe Orca the Killer Whale.

The earliest issues also contain a coda to the Kang saga. Hawkeye's attempts to recover the Black Knight have led him to travel through time where he gets knocked off course and arrives in the American West in 1873. He is followed by Thor and Moondragon for a final battle with Kang in which the time travelling warlord's weaponry overloads, destroying him. Just to confirm his fate, Kang's future self Immortus sends a projection to explain his role in his younger self's downfall and then to fade out, confirming he has now never existed. It's a rather low key ending for someone who had been arguably the Avengers' greatest foe and it also raises the whole question of how time travel works and just what has and hasn't been changed by Kang's death. With the Serpent Crown storyline also running through these issues it feels rather underwhelming, as though it was an after thought.

More surprising is the team-up with five of Marvel's western heroes, the Two-Gun Kid, the Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt, the Ringo Kid and the Night Rider (who was published under the name "Ghost Rider" but has since been renamed multiple times). It's a bold move to fully incorporate them into the Marvel superhero universe. At the end of the adventure the Two-Gun Kid successfully petitions to be allowed to visit the Avengers' own time where he and Hawkeye settle for adventures and work out on the western ranches. There may have been big plans for the Two-Gun Kid's adventures in the present day but very little seems to have come of them and he's reduced to an occasional humorous side moment such as when the telephone rings at a time of great crisis but the Kid just casually shoots it as he doesn't understand what the device does. Still it's good to see that no Marvel character will ever be truly abandoned.

Also not abandoned is Patsy Walker who shows up at the mansion to demand the Beast repay the debt he owes her and she gets caught up in a raid on the Brand Corporation. There she discovers the discarded costume of the Cat, now Tigra, and dons it, becoming the superhero Hellcat. Her story is one of contrasts, with now ex-husband Buzz Baxter now a jaded cynic after his experiences in Vietnam and working for Brand whilst Patsy retains the optimism of her teenage years. She's clearly being built up as the next member of the Avengers but when it comes to finalising the line-up she's whisked away by Moondragon for a period of intense training, no doubt at the behest of incoming writer Conway. It's a pity as Hellcat shows a lot of promise, but fortunately she would soon reappear in another series.

The change of writers coincides with a revised line-up. Moondragon departs, taking Hellcat with her, but not before she's sewn doubts in Thor's mind about being a god working alongside mortals and he too drops out. Hawkeye has already stepped aside and so the team we get is made up of Iron Man, the Wasp, Yellowjacket, Captain America, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision and the Beast. But they are soon joined by a surprise return - the resurrection of Wonder Man.

The second half of the volume meanders through a string of forgettable encounters with old and new foes. If there's one clear theme it's of the Vision's extended family with storylines focusing upon his "brother", his "brother"'s brother, his father-in-law & brother-in-law, his father and his "grandfather". Wonder Man is revived as a "zuvembie" by a new Black Talon but gains full revival thanks to the effects of the Serpent Crown worn by the Living Laser and then the Golden Age Whizzer shows up once more seeking help in dealing with his son Nuklo, with the adventure concluded in the annual which also shows the Vision facing off against Whirlwind. Later Avengers mansion is invaded by the Grim Reaper who has come to determine which of the Vision or Wonder Man is truly his brother. Then Ultron embarks on a strange scheme to create a female android with the mind of the Wasp to be his mate in a display of a classic Oedipus complex, with his "father" Yellowjacket abused and brainwashed into thinking he's Ant-Man in the early years so as to help his creation without knowing it. The female android is not fully brought to life but would go on to become the appropriately named Jocasta.

There's also a forgettable crossover with Super-Villain Team-Up as the Avengers get caught up in the battle between Doctor Doom and Attuma, but it has all the feel of wandering into another series by mistake without ever really explaining things and leaving no real impression here. Worse still it takes up no less than three issues of Avengers. Then there's an encounter with the possessed stone body of the Black Knight in what feels like another filler. The most notable new foe is Graviton, a man who has acquired power over gravity until it goes awry. There's also the beginning of what feels like a greater use for Jarvis as he takes initiative and rescues one of Graviton's victims. Finally there's a clash with the Champions at the behest of Hercules's old foe Typhon.

It would be wrong to imply the first half of the volume is truly spectacular when it actually feels like it's only marking time and tying up loose ends, with the next big thing to come later. But it nevertheless keeps up enough momentum from the previous volume to maintain the promise. However it all gets derailed by reprints, fill-ins and a change of writer, leaving the series stumbling around with a few good ideas such as the resurrection of Wonder Man and a lot of dull ones like the crossover. Only towards the end does it start to get exciting again. Overall the whole volume feels rather disappointing.

Essential Avengers volume 6 - creator labels

Once more we have a volume with a lot of labels so here's a separate post for them.

Essential Avengers volume 5

Essential Avengers volume 5 consists of issues #98 to #119 plus the crossover issues Daredevil and the Black Widow #99 and part of Defenders #8 and all of #9 to #11. The early Avengers issues are written by Roy Thomas, with one plot from a story by Harlan Ellison, and the rest of the run is by Steve Englehart who also writes the Defenders issues whilst Steve Gerber writes the Daredevil and the Black Widow issue. The art sees short runs by Barry Windsor-Smith, Rich Buckler, Don Heck and Bob Brown with other issues by John Buscema, Jim Starlin and George Tuska. The Defenders issues are drawn by Sal Buscema and the Daredevil and the Black Widow issue is drawn by Sam Kweskin. Inevitably there's a separate post for some of the labels.

This volume covers the end of one writer's acclaimed run on the series and the start of another's but it's hard to avoid the impression that this results in the tail end of one's ideas and the early learning process for the other's. Both men have produced major epics that Avengers has returned to time and again, but by and large they're to be found in the volumes on either side and this one is instead treading water. That's not to say there aren't some standout moments but the volume as a whole doesn't feel like the best of the Avengers in this period.

One sign of where Thomas's heart really was can be found in the large number of characters that appear from the pages of X-Men, at the time in its reprint wilderness years. There's a multi-part storyline featuring the return of the Sentinels, now seeking to sterilise the entire human race so that the robots can then oversee artificial procreation with no more mutants. This is immediately followed by a visit to the Savage Land leading to a battle with the Mutates. And then there's another multi-part tale in which Magneto and the Piper have captured the X-Men then the Avengers as a prelude to a scheme to create an army of mutants. The latter two stories are scripted by Englehart but Thomas remains the editor and it's easy to see where the enthusiasm for revisiting so many elements from the X-Men, and especially what were then the last years of original material, had come from. But the problem is that both the Sentinels and Magneto, even the somewhat generic would-be world conqueror portrayed in this era, are foes very specific to one title and don't easily translate well to other series even though the Avengers contains one mutant member (the Scarlet Witch) throughout the whole of the volume.

And it's that member's relationship with another team member that is one of the main themes running through the whole volume. The Vision and the Scarlet Witch now feel confident about admitting their feelings for one another, although it's a bumpy ride at first due to the Vision's initial lack of knowledge of human behaviour and the Scarlet Witch's misunderstanding. Still they become an item and are generally supported by their teammates, by the media and by the public at large. There are, however, some exceptions and one issue sees them and the rest of the team attacked by the Living Bombs, a group of bigots who demonstrate strong gender and racial diversity but despise a mixed relationship between mutant and android and fear it will lead to more androids being created and taking over the world. It's a reminder that people can be incredibly tolerant and supportive in regards to one aspect can still be bigots in regards to another. Bigotry and hypocrisy can be found closer to home with Quicksilver's outright hostility to his sister being involved with an artificial android. This is despite Quicksilver having fallen for and become engaged to Crystal of the Inhumans. It seems Pietro will accept some interracial relationships but not others.

The relationship also impacts on one of the other themes to run throughout the volume, Hawkeye's search for his own place in life which also drives both of the crossovers. Having abandoned the growth serum in the Kree-Skrull War at the end of the previous volume, Clint resumes his original identity though initially adopts a total fashion disaster of a new costume before eventually resuming his original outfit. Coming back to Earth in Yugoslavia, he initially settles for working in a carnival where it turns out the mysterious strongman is an amnesiac Hercules. This leads into a grand battle with the Greek deity Ares, allied with the Enchantress in Olympus and utilising a wide range of henchmen, that climaxes in issue #100 which also sees the return of every Avenger so far, even the Hulk and the Swordsman. Although Hercules is left trapped on Olympus, Hawkeye returns to the Avengers full time but becomes increasingly angry and disillusioned, in part because his feelings for the Scarlet Witch have come to nothing. He eventually quits and sets out to resume things with the Black Widow, but she is much changed from the woman he worked alongside and is now in a relationship with Daredevil as seen in the included issue of their joint title. Such is Clint's anger that when the Avengers come looking for help against Magneto he refuses to hear them out and storms off again. He eventually finds himself working alongside the Defenders and gets caught up in the conflict between them and the Avengers due to the machinations of Loki and Dormammu.

The Avengers-Defenders conflict is a milestone in comics history as the longest lasting crossover to that time in terms of both publishing time and issues included. As a Defenders story it's certainly a key event. But as an Avengers storyline it doesn't feel that amazing. Loki may have been the villain the Avengers originally formed to deal with but he hasn't appeared enough to really feel like a core Avengers foe in a way that Dormammu feels more natural for the Defenders, admittedly a much younger team still largely dealing with Doctor Strange's foes. The story feels like it owes more to the traditional Justice League of America formula of dividing the team into several units to deal with individual parts of the menace before all coming together for the final showdown. In practice this boils down to a series of individual battles that are mainly won by the Defenders regardless of which series they take place in, all for individual pieces of a McGuffin. The set-up also flows more from the pages of Defenders than Avengers, making this an ultimately highly unsatisfying crossover here. It presumably owes its reputation to being the first of its kind rather than to the actual content.

The other stories in the volume contain a mixture of old and forgettable new foes. One story sees a teaming of the Space Phantom and the Grim Reaper, apparently allied but each working towards their own ends in just which human body they will put the Vision's consciousness in. The story is complicated by the presence of Hydra in a tie-in to events over in Captain America's own title, with the revelation that the Space Phantom has been impersonating one of Cap's foes. The final issue in the volume sees the team clash with the Collector against the backdrop of the annual Halloween Parade in Rutland. One of the few new foes introduced in these pages is Imus Champion, a very rich giant of a man who seeks to master all skills and hires Hawkeye to train him in archery before embarking upon an audacious scheme to destroy California. There are some good ideas in the concept but the execution just doesn't make for an especially memorable foe. Less memorable still is the Lion God, a deity worshipped by an African tribe and presumably intended to be a recurring foe for the Black Panther but instead he gets easily defeated the first time and then the second time he seems to have been set up purely to demonstrate the worth of the newly arrived Swordsman and Mantis. Even less memorable are Skol and the Troglodytes, a race of underground dwellers who live near the Black Knight's castle.

One of the oddest stories comes from a plot by Harlan Ellison but the result is a rather incoherent mess in which ordinary man Leonard Tibbit is given great powers by the Watcher and told the only way to save humanity from certain doom is to kill five particular people, but this is actually just a way to get the Avengers involved to stop the real menace - Tibbit himself. It's completely out of character for the Watcher to intervene in such a way and it doesn't make much sense either when he could have simply informed the Avengers.

Towards the end of the volume comes the permanent return of the Swordsman, accompanied by the mysterious Mantis, a woman he met in a bar in Vietnam. It's unclear if the Swordsman has genuinely reformed and is seeking acceptance through membership of the team or if he is only faking it as part of a scheme yet to be revealed. Mantis's motivations are even more obscure and her powers have yet to be fully explored, making for good intrigue to come.

The art in the volume is rather inconsistent, particularly when compared to the stability on the writing front. Barry Windsor-Smith's brief run shows his distinctive style which is especially good for the mythology driven storyline, whilst Don Heck provides the best of the more traditionally solid runs.

Overall this volume is okay but not really spectacular. The obsession with reviving old X-Men foes in the first half of the volume is quite simply misplaced and can distract at times from the ongoing storylines and character development. Other than Mantis there just aren't any really memorable creations added in these pages. It's clear that this combines one writer exhausted at the end of a long run and another only slowly limbering up and finding their feet on the title before going on to produce something especially memorable. This is often a curse of the Essentials to catch the less good and it's unfortunate that this volume has landed right between two especially memorable heights.