Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities The All Avengers Thread

Also his ears. And his penis.

[No, I'm *not* joking! Byrne literally as well as figuratively castrated the character. One wonders what Anti-Vision made of it when he found out after their bodyswap...]

Avengers #347 (Operation Galactic Storm Part 19)

Woo boy, this one has it all.

The Good - Sersi saves our heroes through some old Eternal trickery, that Starfox picks up on.

The real plan behind it all is revealed...and wow, it's a doozy.

The Supreme Intelligence is repaid for his actions by a group of Avengers that go against Cap. This will lead to more problems later.

The Bad - Billions of Kree die...due to the Supreme Intelligence.

The Ugly - Not much, this is a solid finale to the story.

Overall impression of the crossover proper (still have the Cap follow up issue to go.)

This is how crossovers should be handled. Not the 15 3 issue minis to go with the drawn out mini series that ties into 3 monthly books type crap that we have now.

Most of the crossover issues here focus solely on the main story, while a handful have one or two pages to continue a story line, or try to interest the new reader to continue picking up the book after OGS was done.

I can argue both sides of the Supreme Intelligence debate here, and that would be boring. I think that the ones that chose to Avenge the Kree had sound reasoning, just as Cap and his 'side' did. Sometimes in war, there are no easy answers.

Wonder Man #8

The Starjammers almost always liven things up when they guest star somewhere. This is no exception. I like that Corsair refused to participate after he found out the truth about the cargo.

Avengers #346

A really good issue. I loved the bomber jackets introduced here, I loved Crystal and Dane's kick-ass new attitudes, I loved the battle against Starforce, Deathbird is very well used, and the Supreme Intelligence's soliloquy on the last page is blood-chilling.

Iron Man #279

I like this issue. The battle between Iron Man and Ronan delivers in a way that the battle between Thor and Gladiator did not, although it could have been even better if they'd had a more dynamic artist.

Thor #446

Even though most of the characterizations are still shrill, this issue has another good battle against Starforce, and the banter between Thor and Smasher (Ultra Boy by any other name) is surprisingly decent. Also, Lilandra shows a rare amount of spine.

Captain America #400

This COULD have been good, if the Supreme Intelligence had done something like put Cap through warped versions of his origin (that would have made the anniversary timelier.) But what we got was not good. At all.

Avengers West Coast #82

The story arc almost loses momentum here. Thankfully, the next issue sets things right.

Quasar #34

Carefully judged coloring makes the solar flare sequences spectacular, and its nice to see Carol Danvers save the day. I also think Quasar came off better overall than just about any of the A-and-B-list characters involved in this event.

Wonder Man #9

Really just setup for the masterpiece that is Avengers #347.

Avengers #347

If the people running Marvel at the time had had any sense, this could have been as seminal a comic as, say, Swamp Thing #22. It could have made the entire Marvel Universe more adult and sophisticated, rather than just Avengers and a handful of other titles. Instead, as we'll see when we get to the epilogue, Marvel lost its nerve. Shame, because we could have had the Civil War 15 years earlier, with better writers. And by the time Marvel did capitalize on it with Force Works, it was too little too late. But as a stand-alone issue, this is as good as 90s superhero comics ever got.

Re: Bendis announcing his imminent departure, I'd rather save most of my thoughts for the post-mortem on his run once he's actually gone. What I will say right now is that I think even his most loyal defenders would agree that he peaked with Siege and Avengers Prime, and it's all been downhill from there.

Next up after the After the Storm issue of Cap, I will hit the two issue What If? story that covers this story.

Captain America #401 (After the Storm)

The Good - Everyone is back on Earth, and none the worse for wear physically. Nice to see Steve and Clint out as just Steve and Clint, but...

The Bad - Cap is way to whiny here, just because he wants the group that 'killed' the Supreme Intelligence to face disciplinary action and the majority voted against it. He then tries to step down.

He also tells them that he's like them to attend a seminar on Superhuman Ethics...only four people end up showing up...and Thor is the only one that comes that was on Tony's team during the final gambit.

Tony shows up at the bar Steve and Clint are at and asks forgiveness for his actions.

The Ugly - Hawkeye bouncing on Caps bed.

There is so much potential with this issue, and they squander it. Cap should not be that despondent because some of the Avengers followed Tony...and Tony should not be there all but begging for forgiveness.

It was very poorly done, metaphorically trying to put a band-aid over a massive wound. Gruenwald almost always wrote terrible dialogue IMO, and this was one of his worst showings. Harras or Nicieza should have guest-written this issue.

If you all will forgive the self-promotion, I tried a couple years ago to posit an alternate timeline where the potential repercussions of the disagreement were followed to their logical conclusion. Regrettably, after writing the first seven installments in a blaze of confidence, I succumbed to self-doubt, and I don't know if I'll ever finish the project. But if any of you are interested, here's a link:

http://ninetiesredux.blogspot.com

And if you have any comments (which, as always, are welcome), please PM them to me instead of posting them on the blog.

What If? #55/56 (What if the Avengers Lost Operation Galactic Storm?)

This story diverges with Avengers #346 (Operation Galactic Storm Part 12). On that issue, Deathcry assassinates the Kree leaders and the Supreme Intelligence takes command back.

Here, Cap stops her, and she is killed by Ael-Dan, one of the two Kree leaders. He then proceeds to kill the Supreme Intelligence and the other Kree leader. This leaves him in sole command of the Kree.

The Avengers, save Cap are taken to a camp, and Cap is forced to watch as Ael-Dan orders the destruction of Earth. Earth is destroyed and Cap is sentenced to death.

Iropn Man and Hawkeye hatch a plan to free Cap and are successful...even though neither of them really know it in the end.

The Shi'Ar are devastated by the Omni-Wave that destroyed Earth.

The remaining Avengers (including those that were on their way to the Shi'Ar galaxy) then form an underground resistance with the remainder of the Imperial Guard.

There are lots of sacrifices along the way, and the heroes go out as that...heroes.

There are several surprise guest stars along the way that were nice to see.

In the end, Cap, Quasar, the Scarlet Witch and Simon (of a sorts) are left to carry on.

This is a very heart wrenching alternate universe, as are most of the What If...? universes.

I thoroughly enjoyed these issues and the send off several of the heroes received.

Recommended for those that want to see a different ending than we're used to seeing.

I avoided spoiling a lot of the twists and turns (including how people die) on purpose, as this is probably less read than the regular issues of the crossover. It's worth tracking down, if you like the What If...? style takes on these things.

Avengers #348 (Familial Connections)

The Good - This is a nice little one off story about the Vision, who goes to the 'deathbed' of Prof. Miles Lipton, who helped the Vision by using his sons brain pattern to restart him before. Whether he obliges the mans last wish however...

There is also some progress in the Proctor subplot.

The Bad - No Steve Epting this issue, but I will say that I enjoyed Kirk Jarvinen's art here.

The Ugly - Nothing much really.

I recently read this one too, I thought it was a nice one off story, It reminded me very much of the Data stories from TNG.

I thought for sure that the guy was going to be a villain and was going to take control of the very powerful Vision.


but no ... and I wonder why Crystal is the one going on this journey with the Vision, maybe because she is his former sister in law. and seems quite sweet.


I also thought that was Wanda on the cover, and that it was depicting some sort of love triangle. Crystal seems to be seeing people kiss a lot, like that weird scene where Sersi returns (I think a few issues before this) and kisses Dane yet Dane really likes Crystal.

So ... IMO the Vision should have found his humanity promptly after this issue, maybe within the year and that would be a done deal ... we get the point ... back to red and green vision ... I didn't like the Vision being regressed for so long. I almost think it was laziness ... that by crippling the Vision they've give him a way to grow as a character ... yet can't a good writer make any character grow ... and not through trauma.

The Dane / Sersi kiss happens in the next issue, I think.

I also thought that this should have been the start of the return of a more 'human' Vision.

Not much to say about this one that hasn't already been said, except that I think Vision does make progress under Harras. It was Busiek who re-regressed the Vision, probably because he's so bereft of original ideas.

And I think Crystal became friends with the Vision because she wanted to reconnect with someone at a platonic level after the self-centeredness she had shown pre-Harras.

Rereading, so I am guessing that he did make some progress, as did all the characters so far. Harras is criminally under-rated from everything I've read here so far.

Amen to that, Dev.

I'll have a lot to say too but can add the preview that I'm actually in complete agreement. And I think Bendis knows it too.

I actually think he's stuck around for two more years to indulge himself with the things he always meant to get to, like Daisy Johnson, Daredevil, etc.

Took him long enough.

But then, that's nothing new for him, is it?

Avengers #349 (Death Wager)

The Good - Again, a nice little one off for Herc this issue. I would love to see a Herc series by Harras. Long story short, Herc is the victim of a game between Hera and Ares. Thor gets dragged into the fray, as does Crystal to a fashion.

The Bad - Not much, a little annoying with third person references by characters, but it is what it is.

The Ugly - Ares and Hera involving innocents in their games...but, they are gods though.

I like this issue, but it's bittersweet when I read it, because when Harras finally resolved this subplot (in #384), it was a very unsatisfying resolution and was the final straw for me in the book's post-Epting decline. I didn't buy another Avengers issue for many years.

Me, too. I have a feeling his current experiences at DC are going to leave him so frustrated, it'll re-ignite his fire as a writer.

Is it sad that I do not remember the resolution to this at all?

The current plan is to go to 375...then I may revisit some other issues later. Lots of stuff I want to reread.

It's not sad. You're lucky. I have a psychic scar from it.

If you want to read past 375, it's fine, but as thread-mistress I would ask you to please not post about it, because it would be too depressing.

AVengers # 350 (Repercussions)

The Good - Epting does a phenomenal job with this issue. Prof. X, Cyclops and Quicksilver show up to alert the Avengers of a possible problem from the Acolytes. The Starjammers show up as well...but why?

Dane avoids seeing Crystal and Quicksilver, but it is inevitable. He bows out as fast as possible.

Sersi returns after a few weeks away, and puts the moves on Dane as he is brooding over his feelings for Crystal.

The Bad - Hepzibah and Raza of the Starjammers take a contract on Dane from a former Kree Admiral.

The Ugly - Seeing Raza finish his attack on Dane at the stories end.

No problem...

A few comments about the state of the Avengers at this point in Harras' run.

-I loved the leather style jackets here, a lot more than I did when the X-Men had some characters with that look.

-This run is what cemented my being a fan of the Black Knight.

-This may not be the most powerful, or popular Avengers line-up, but it is for me.

I love the jackets, too. I'm still waiting for the revelation that Crystal kept her jacket out of sentimental value.

It'll never be the most popular lineup, but it could be argued that it was, for a while at least, one of the most powerful. Crystal controls all four elements, Herc is a demigod, Sersi controls molecules, Vision has always been a powerhouse, and later addition Giant-Man was very powerful too.

Avengers #350

This is one of my favorite issues of this era. I love the fallout from Operation Galactic Storm, and Epting draws the Starjammers beautifully.