And, we’re back. I decided I should to cover this. It continuing the Eighth Day wasn’t enough on its own, but 1. Spider-Man does show up in the back half, and 2. I kinda just want to show off the great George Perez art. He has sadly died since I posted a few pages of Avengers #1 awhile back (Well, he died years ago by the time this posts, but for me, it’s still recent and still very, very sad as I type this), and I’m just happy to revisit these. But as Spider-Man doesn’t appear in issue 24, I’m gonna speed through it for blog purposes. Dick Giordano & Al Vey ink and Tom Smith colors. 2 years in, Busiek & Perez have long since made Avengers a must-read title. The only time I’d ever actually bought Avengers was 2 issues that did a crossover with X-Men, but I was fully on board. Your Avengers lineup as of this issue is the Holy Trinity, Captain America, Iron Man & Thor, plus Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man and the rookies, Justice & Firestar. Vision has just left last month due to the mounting love triangle between him, Wanda & Simon. Justice has had a broken leg for awhile. And at the moment, a carefully orchestrated smear campaign has turned the public against the team. After a teaser of a mystery figure running through back alleys fleeing an unseen foe and seeking the Avengers, we see protestors outside the mansion, demanding black people be added to the currently all white team and also demanding no mutants be allowed on the team. Complex racial politics. Thor has his own take:
The guy not in costume is Duane Freeman, a liaison from the government. Wanda’s looking for Simon, and told where he is, she leaves. Cap & Iron Man disagree about how to handle their PR, Dr. Jane Foster takes Justice’s cast off and Firestar tells him Janet Van Dyne has made him a new costume (The Wasp was always designing suits for people), Wanda finds Simon feeling guilty about Vision leaving, and the mystery person who is clearly Juggernaut gets closer to the Avengers with thunderous footfalls. Then Quicksilver arrives at the mansion, and is pretty put off by the protestors. He finds guys going through the garbage, claiming to be reporters, but notices something on them and rushes inside. Justice debuts his new costume, which looks oddly like the Nightwing suit Perez designed at DC in the 80s, Wanda and Pietro have an awkward reunion…
That’s gonna be a big problem for the team, but they don’t have time for that, because a giant flying ancient structure has appeared in the sky. The Avengers rush off to investigate.
Yeah, it’s them. I mean, obviously, that’s why we’re looking at this. I must say, seems like Thor and IM should feel better doing this with the whole squad and a backup Avenger as opposed to just Spider-Man and Professor X. Carnivore is fighting Conquest inside, for fun, I guess. Stonecutter is leading them to Juggernaut, Tempest has made a garden and Decay is killing it, they start fighting and Inferno & Bedlam stop them. Got them all introduced in 3 pages. Meanwhile, on the ground, Juggernaut finally reaches the Avengers, and explains what’s going on with help from Thor and IM, and then the Exemplars are on them beating the crap out of Juggernaut.
So then! Avengers 25
Al Vey is the sole inker this time, and we open on the Exemplars explaining who they are and what’s going on as they hold Juggs captive. Then they torture him a little more, and he wonders if the Avengers will even bother to help him. But, down on the ground, Iron Man and a newly arrived Giant Man are working on a “flux cannon” they think will get them through the barrier around the flying fortress. And the backup keeps arriving as Hercules shows up, too. Thor explains to him their problem with protesters, Cap and Duane get in some exposition about the Triune Understanding, Wanda & Pietro argue and make up (It’s a nice moment, I’m just in a hurry), Simon & Jan talk about him maybe wanting to leave, Justice & Firestar imply they might want to quit, too, and then Cap summons everyone to the roof.
And then, finally, and pretty randomly…
It’s a very star-studded anniversary issue! After some effort, the flux thingie gets through the enemy defenses, and it’s time for Perez to offer the thousandth example of how nobody, but nobody, handles a comic with this many characters in it like he does.
20+ characters in a fight. Whereas this situation would be a nightmare for most artists, they say Perez loved stuff like this. And you can tell.
I mean, he moves through the scene with ease, nothing is confusing, and the action is thrilling. Nobody came close. The Avengers & Co. have gotten a clear upper hand, and we check in on Juggernaut, shocked they came to help him, but then the tide of the battle quickly turns, as Conquest takes down Quicksilver and Bedlam knocks out Scarlet Witch, Justice & Wonder Man. Tempest takes down Firestar, Inferno gets Giant Man and Nova, and Carnivore and Decay manage to crush Spider-Man and Captain America under rubble. Iron Man gets blasted by Stonecutter, and soon it’s just Thor & Hercules, back to back. Whew, that was quick.
Pitch perfect Captain America. Not that that’s a surprise. Iron Man and Thor manage to combine their energy absorption powers and get loose, but as Cap keeps talking, he signals them to hang back. It’s almost working, but then Carnivore gets too angry and attacks. But…
And that’s how it’s done! Crazy action, shocking twists, more characters than you can keep track of. All part of the service for this legendary run. Sure, Spider-Man wasn’t exactly crucial here, but I don’t care. It was fun to revisit this, and to marvel once again at the talent of George Perez. He is sorely missed.