WEST COAST AVENGERS ANNUAL #3

"HEADS YOU LOSE--!"
Story: Steve Englehart | Layouts: Al Milgrom | Finishes: Gerry Taloc
Letters: Bill Oakley | Colors: Marc Siry | Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: At his citadel in the Savage Land, the High Evolutionary oversees several technicians working on his project. One tech, Bill Foster, smuggles a note out of the facility in the armor of one of the Evolutionary's Gatherers as they depart for a mission. The Gatherers head to Wakanda to steal the Black Panther's vibranium, but the Panther and his men defeat them and the Panther locates the note, which warns the world is in danger and recommends calling Hank Pym for help.

Panther places a call to the West Coast Avengers, and they soon arrive, but without the recently departed Pym. As the Avengers and Panther catch up, Wakanda is attacked by the Senses, more of the High Evolutionary's warriors. The Avengers and Black Panther defeat the Senses, but one of the Evolutionary's other men teleports in during the fight and secretly steals some vibranium.

With the Senses thwarted and the vibranium seemingly safe, the Avengers depart to investigate coordinates from Foster's note, but find only a large crater in the Savage Land.

"TAILS YOU WIN!"
Story: Steve Englehart | Layouts: Al Milgrom | Finishes: Chris Ivy
Letters: Bill Oakley | Colors: Marc Siry | Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Mockingbird, Moon Knight, and Tigra, formerly of the West Coast Avengers, fly over the Savage Land in a quintet and land to investigate its unexpected restoration. There they bump into Ka-Zar, who tells them of the High Evolutionary. The three ex-Avengers investigate his citadel, and the Evolutionary realizes they could thwart his plans. He throws the trio into a set of deathtraps. While the Avengers fight their way free, Bill Foster goes looking for them.

All three heroes escape their traps and Mockingbird is the first to locate the High Evolutionary. She fights him but he grows to mammoth size to finish her off. Foster arrives then and reveals his other identity as Giant-Man, growing to challenge the Evolutionary. When the Evolutionary receives word from his agent, Foks, that the vibranium has been seized, he retreats from his base. Foster, Moon Knight, Tigra, and Mockingbird escape the citadel just before it self-destructs. The quartet leaves the Savage Land mere moments before the West Coast Avengers arrive to find the recently formed crater.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #4

"SWEET POISON!"
Writer: Steve Gerber | Artist: Cynthia Martin
Letterer: Rick Parker | Colorist: Janet Jackson | Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: In Maimi, Peter Parker appears on a morning talk show to promote his new photo book, WEBS: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF SPIDER-MAN. Later, back at his motel, Peter speaks with Mary Jane on the phone and has a run-in with a housekeeper who sets his spider-sense tingling. Up north, the High Evolutionary's Purifiers transport a strange obelisk into the Everglades, where the High Evolutionary activates it. It tears open the fabric of reality, drawing the attention of the Man-Thing. The Man-Thing apparently perishes as the High Evolutionary observes from his base.

Back in Miami, the housekeeper, Cecilia, speaks with a disembodied consciousness who tells her to get a babysitter for her son so she can go out and take care of something. That night, Peter heads out for dinner and finds a drug pusher being shaken down by an agent of Miami's crime lord, the Slug. Peter changes to Spider-Man, rescues the dealer, and learns that the Slug's man wanted something hidden in the Everglades. After Spider-Man leaves, a group of Purifiers shows up and kills the dealer.

Meanwhile, Slug and the Kingpin make an agreement to locate a new source of cocaine for the Kingpin. At the same time, Cecilia, now brandishing super powers as Poison, finds Purifiers coming to her apartment. She destroys them and leaves for the Everglades. Spider-Man also arrives at the swamp, where he locates the cocaine and runs afoul of Slug's men. But the Purifiers show up as well and a fight breaks out.

Poison then arrives and seals the rift between dimensions, the entity leaving Cecilia in the process. Meanwhile, Man-Thing returns to life and distracts the Slug's goons and the Purifiers long enough for Spider-Man to web them up.

Later, back in Miami, Mary Jane arrives to keep Peter company on his tour.

X-MEN ANNUAL #12

"RESURRECTION!"
An adventure of the Uncanny X-Men by
Writer: Chris Claremont | Penciler: Art Adams | Inker: Bob Wiacek
Colorist: Glynis Oliver | Letterer: Tom Orzechowski | Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: Storm goes nuts and flies south, pursued by Rogue. The rest of the X-Men follow and find themselves in a barren wasteland that was once their occasional stomping ground, the prehistoric Savage Land. An armored behemoth called Terminus appears, grabbing the visiting High Evolutionary, but the X-Men save him and knock Terminus out. The Evolutionary returns to his citadel with Havok, while the rest of the X-Men locate another dimensional realm, where many of the Savage Land's people have been hiding since the destruction of their home.

The X-Men return to Earth and defeat Terminus, revealing Garokk the Petrified Man inside the armor. The High Evolutionary explains that he can restore the Savage Land with the help of a mutant connected to its life-force, and Garokk agrees, sacrificing himself. The Savage Land returned to normal and the X-Men depart.

Continuity Notes: Though not footnoted in this issue, the Savage Land was destroyed by Terminus in AVENGERS #257.

The High Evolutionary has taken Zaladane, one-time X-Men foe, as his assistant, along with Magneto's former henchmen, the Savage Land Mutates.

Storm discovered the strange parallel universe during her first trip to the Savage Land, in a backup story from CLASSIC X-MEN #22.