AVENGERS #385

Stan Lee presents a new threar for the mighty Avengers...
"EVIL IN A COLD AND LONELY PLACE"
Story: Bob Harras & Terry Kavanagh | Script: Bob Harras
Breakdowns: Mike Deodato & John Buscema | Finishes: Tom Palmer
Colorist: John Kalisz | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Mark Gruenwald

The Plot: Black Widow meets with her mentor and father figure, Ivan, in Manhattan. Ivan tells her that he recently learned of a massive energy surge in Canada. The Widow leaves to assemble the Avengers, warning Ivan to watch his back. But as he drives home, Ivan is ambushed and captured by a mystery figure.

At Avengers Mansion, Deathcry is injured when the strange door in the basement emits a blast of flame. The Avengers depart for Canada, leaving Deathcry behind on monitor duty. Nick Fury learns of the group's course for Canada, and is none too pleased. When the Avengers reach their destination, they find a massive crater in the ground. The group descends, but they are ambushed at the bottom by the Red Skull, standing over Ivan's body.

Continuity Notes: It is revealed that Ivan is who the Black Widow spoke with on the phone in the prior issue.

As described above, the Avengers' mystery door shoots fire at Quicksilver, Crystal, and Deathcry as they scan it. However, though she is hit by the flames, Deathcry is not burned. Quicksilver speculates that a temporal paradox is involved, though how he arrives at that conclusion is beyond me. (I mean, yes, the Avengers scanned temporal energy behind the door when they first discovered it, but what would that have to do with flames not burning someone?) As the trio walks away from the door, they fail to hear someone or something inside tapping on it.