Under Siege: Avengers 276

Avengers #276 (February 1987)

"Revenge"

Roger Stern-John Buscema/Tom Palmer

Doug:  I'm not messing around with these guys you see above.  But wait -- Dr. Druid?  Ugh.  Remember when we had the post last week asking where your jumping off point was for certain titles?  Well, while Dr. Druid certainly proves helpful in the concluding two issues of this story, he was part of my personal "beginning of the end" in terms of my love for this title.  I like Mantis, but for all of you out there who don't?  Dr. Druid is my "Mantis" -- see what I'm saying now?

Karen: It truly is an enigma how this guy ever wound up on the team. Really, was he anybody's favorite?

Doug:  We pick the story up back at the hospital where Hercules lay in a coma, suffered from the beating he sustained in Avengers #274.  The Wasp and Ant-Man (Scott Lang) despatched Titania and the Absorbing Man the previous issue and are being interviewed by the police.  Jan is burning to make the whole situation right, and with Lang's offer of help flies off to pursue a plan.  As we remarked previously (and our readers blew up the comments section on that post), Roger Stern has really deepened the personality of Janet Van Dyne, and I like it.  The subtle bits of characterization that we'll find in these last two issues, of Thor and Cap deferring to her leadership, are great pieces of the overall puzzle that has been the creation of this richer Wasp.

Karen: She's as take charge as any male leader but still seems to be the same character, somehow. I don't know if part of it is my willingness to accept the change, since I never liked the Wasp's flighty personality, but I bought into the idea that this really was just a more mature Janet Van Dyne here.

Doug:  Back at the Mansion, Mr. Hyde continues to give Jarvis a brutal beating, laughing about it the whole time.  Cap and the Black Knight, both still bound, are forced to watch... and listen.  Dane continues to try to reach his ebony blade mentally; but the Fixer's stasis field holds both the sword and Cap's shield.  Outside, the U.S. Army has gathered and headquartered in Central Park.  Jan and Ant-Man meet with the commanding officer, and the three of them mull strategies.  Jan asks for time, and to be allowed to do things her way.  With few options, the Colonel agrees.  Jan tries to raise Thor, using the biggest cell phone ever invented, but finds him unavailable.  We then shift scenes to the dark dimension that holds Captain Marvel.  She continues to fly around, looking for some way out.  As we saw last issue, she was drawn to a pinpoint of white light, only to see it disappear as she drew near.  But again this issue, she sees one.  Launching herself toward it, we then immediately scene shift to a dock in San Francisco of all places!  The Shroud, he of Super-Villain Team-Up fame,  has a baddie cornered.  As the Shroud begins to emit his Darkness, who should suddenly blast out of the inky mists but Marvel?!  Stunned, she is helped to her feet by the Shroud, and they quickly deduce that the Darkness that the Shroud taps into must be the same dimensional force used by Blackout.

Karen: Jarvis must be a pretty tough guy, because Hyde really seems to be whaling away on him. Even though very little is shown, it's still hard to take, as we mentioned last time. The gigantic cell phone was just a sign of the times. I remember those bricks! No wonder so few people were interested in having a phone back then. But I didn't recall that the Shroud had the ability to manipulate the darkforce. I had to go back and read the Wiki entry on him to see that he gained that power later on in his career. I guess it was appropriate for the character.

Doug:  I remember really liking the Shroud back in 1970-whatever, but man, on those SVTU re-reads was it disappointing.  Time was definitely not kind in this guy's eyes!

Doug:  We then look in on a Dr. Anthony Druid and his personal secretary.  Druid is concerned about the news of the Avengers Mansion takeover, and decides to attempt to clear his mind and learn what he can.  He picks up on Dane Whitman's efforts to reunite with the sword, and having seen the dark force surrounding the Mansion soon changes into his "fightin' duds".  Back at the army camp, Ant-Man and the Wasp are doing a little crying in the coffee as they commiserate about all of their strike-outs for assistance -- no West Coast Avengers, no Fantastic Four, no Vision and Scarlet Witch, no Falcon.  Just as they decide they'll attempt to scour the city for the likes of Spider-Man and Daredevil, Captain Marvel arrives.  As she tells them about her ordeal, who should literally walk up but the God of Thunder.  Alriiiiiight...

 

Karen: The shot of Druid's eyes and the image of the Knight above them was pure Buscema to me. Did ol' Doctor D seem like a huge dude -I mean tall and big -to you? He looked about 6'6" when he stormed out! It's a bit hard to believe that Wasp and Ant-Man were having such poor luck getting a hold of anyone -are there no telephones in Wakanda? - but it was good to see Thor show up, even with that silly beard.

Doug:  Well if he's that big, then he's that ugly, too.  And I remember the Panther's cool entrance in issue #159 when they were fighting Graviton for the first time.

Doug:  Inside the Mansion, the thugs continue to loot the place.  Moonstone finds every opportunity to be alone with Blackout, continuing to attempt to sway his loyalty from Zemo to her.  No dice.   In the Assembly room, Hyde holds up the nearly-dead Jarvis and gloats to Cap and the Knight.  In a control room, Zemo oversees Yellowjacket and the Fixer as they attempt to steal the memory discs from the Avengers' mainframe.  Suddenly the lights go out, alarming Zemo.  The Fixer moves quickly to find the source of the problem.  Oops -- when the power went out, so did the field locking down the Avengers' weapons.  The sword is gone!  Now possessing the ebony blade, the Knight frees himself and Cap, while Hyde bellows threats.  Using the darkness for stealth, the Knight and Cap mete out their revenge against Hyde, frustrating him into an even deeper mad rage.  Captain Marvel suddenly materializes through the floor, followed by the Wasp and Thor.  Hyde is knocked out while trying to head butt Thor.  This was during the time when Thor's bones were becoming brittle, if memory serves.  If I also recall, the Thunder God would soon have to wear a special suit of armor to protect his degenerating condition.

Karen: I believe you are correct, amigo. It did give me a little smile to see that Thor didn't have to raise a finger to stop Hyde-he just stood there and let him knock himself out! How was Hyde ever a major Thor villain? Of course, all our heroes seem to get more and more powerful over the years, but the villains -particularly the grade C listers -don't keep up.

Doug:  You ask how Hyde was a big-time baddie?  Because his partner was the Cobra.  Duh...  OK, I'll admit I almost laughed out loud while typing that.

Karen: Yeah, I was thinking about that partnership too. What an unbeatable combo. If you're Ka-Zar, maybe.

Doug:  Now the tide begins to turn.  The Avengers reunite to inspect the damage done to Jarvis.  Thor swears revenge as Yellowjacket eavesdrops.  She scurries back to Zemo and tells him of the danger the Masters are now in.  Zemo decides to flee immediately, leaving everyone to their own devices.  He takes YJ with him.  Outside, Dr. Druid has arrived at the Mansion, cloaking himself from the notice of the assembled soldiers.   He contacts Blackout and orders him to remove the darkforce cube that has encased the Mansion.  It falls, and Druid enters the grounds.  Inside, Ant-Man has snuck up on the Fixer and KO's him with one punch!  There's a cool moment back in the Assembly room, as Jarvis has been laid prone on the meeting table.  Thor looks at him, and in what at least to my ears appears to be Dr. Don Blake's voice, examines and passes judgement on the condition of the Avengers' faithful servant.

Karen: Seems like they were still getting some mileage out of the Blake identity, at least in moments like these. Ant-Man's one punch takedown of the Fixer was also great fun.The way poor Jarvis was drawn, with his shirt shredded, you'd think he'd been attacked by a wild animal. Then again, the way Hyde was drawn, I suppose he was.

Doug:  Jan begins to give the team orders, when Captain Marvel reports back from her tour of the building.  She reports that the trouble will arrive, and soon.  And wouldn't you know it?  It's Cap, unarmed, who takes the battle to the Wrecking Crew.  Thor quickly follows, and using Mjolnir removes the Asgardian enchantments the group had received from Karnilla.  But, in removing the magic, it had to be channeled through the Wrecker -- more on that later.  There's no time to gloat, however, as Goliath grabs Thor's cape from behind and begins to swing the Son of Odin back and forth, each time striking his body against the floor.  Remember, this Goliath was once Power Man, and is infinitely stronger than Hank Pym or Clint Barton ever were with the growth serum.  Outside, Druid has levitated to the roof, where he encounters Moonstone, in one last gasp to wrest control of Blackout's mind from Zemo.  But as Druid arrives, so does Captain Marvel.  Moonstone hurls Blackout toward Marvel, and takes to the skies in an effort to flee.  Monica gives chase, cutting off Moonstone's path time and again.  They dodge and dart, until Moonstone suddenly crash lands, head first, into the rocky banks of a river.

Karen: That's a good point about this Goliath being stronger -I hadn't thought of that but I do believe you are right. He really tosses the thunder god around like a rag doll, and the expression of shock on Cap's face says it all. It's rather convenient though, that Thor is able to steal back the Norn power from the Wrecking Crew. Not that it isn't in line with dozens of Lee/Kirby era stories, as far as the miraculous powers wrapped up in Mjolnir. But it does wipe the battlefield of about half the bad guys!

Doug:  Druid has moved near to Blackout as Zemo and Yellowjacket emerge from the stairs.  Zemo shoots Druid with a stun gun, dropping the mental mage.  Zemo helps Blackout to his feet, and tells him that enemies are all around.  At the river, Captain Marvel inspects Moonstone's condition.  She's paralyzed, apparently, but tells Marvel that it's Baron Zemo who controls Blackout.  On the Mansion's roof, Zemo implores Blackout to send the Mansion and all of their enemies... into the dark dimension!