AVENGERS #351

The mighty assemblers learn the awful pain of...
"RETRIBUTION!"
Writer: Bob Harras | Guest Penciler: Kevin West | Guest Inker: Bud LaRosa
Colorist: Gina Going | Letterers: Oakley & (sic)
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: As Hercules threatens to kill Raza, the remaining Starjammers, Avengers, and Cyclops and Professor X arrive in the hangar. Ch'od attacks Hercules, bursting through an exterior wall in the process, then he and Raza escape while Hercules lays stunned. Quicksilver and Lockjaw fetch the Inhumans' royal physician from the Moon to tend to the Black Knight, while a group of Avengers, joined by Corsair and Binary, sets out to find Ch'od and Raza. Hepzibah remains behind as a willing hostage of the Avengers.

Hercules, Thor, Vision, and Sersi catch up with Ch'od and Raza in an alleyway and attack. Corsair and Binary arrive, and Binary goes to reason with Raza. Back at Avengers Mansion, the royal physician and the Starjammers medic, Sikorsky, tend to the Black Knight. Meanwhile, Raza confides in Binary that the Kree promised to give him his son, and shows her the boy's medallion. Binary claims the medallion is a Kree memory implant device, which created for Raza the memory of a son he never had. At the mansion, Black Knight is stabliized and expected to make a full recovery. But later in the night, Hepizbah sneaks into his room to finish him off. She is interrupted by Black Widow and Crystal, and then by the returning Avengers and Starjammers.

With no one quite certain what Hepzibah was up to, and with Raza's actions explained, the Avengers let the Starjammers go. Aboard their ship, Raza tells Hepzibah that he really does have a son, and that Binary lied to the Avengers for him in order that he might go free and search for the young man.

Continuity Notes: Professor X and Cyclops leave after the first scene to "see if they can help from that end," which seems a flimsy excuse to remove them from the rest of the story. Especially since Xavier could have easily mind-scanned the city to pinpoint Raza and Ch'od, two beings with whom he spent a great deal of time and should recognize fairly easily. (Xavier's mental powers also could've sorted out the entire situation of why Raza attacked the Black Knight and what Hepzibah knew about it, as well!)

In the Avengers' infirmary, Crystal becomes emotional about the Black Knight's condition, a brief moment which apparently does not go unnoticed by her estranged husband, Quicksilver.

Vision suggests to Hercules that he is beginning to experience emotions again, a fact Hercules greets with great joy.

At the end of the story, Binary declines offers to rejoin both the Starjammers and the Avengers, instead stating that she wants to go home to "rediscover" herself. I don't think she becomes any sort of major figure in the Marvel Universe again until the "Heroes Return" era about six years later.

Before leaving Earth, Raza warns the Avengers that the Kree will continue to seek revenge on them for the death of the Supreme Intelligence.

Assemble: As usual, the answer is no. I'm beginning to wonder if I should even keep this category! ("Avengers Assemble!" count: 3 in 18 issues to date.)

My Thoughts: It's been observed many times by many people that in a comic book, great artwork can often elevate a sub-par script. And bad artwork can bring down a good script. To the latter, I would add: when doing a comic "Marvel style" (plot followed by pencils followed by script), poor artwork can actually result in a bad script where good artwork would not have.

I use this issue as a case in point: Bob Harras has proven an excellent writer thus far in his AVENGERS run -- actually a far better scripter than I ever would've imagined, considering I know him primarily as a prolific editor. And the first chapter of this two-parter was great; well-written as usual and beautifully illustrated by Steve Epting and Tom Palmer. Unfortunately, part two is drawn by the, err... less than stellar Kevin West -- and Harras lowers himself to the occasion, with one of his poorest-written issues to date. Everything about this issue feels stilted, weirdly paced, and poorly conceived. Professor X and Cyclops leaving when Xavier could've really helped out is part of it. Scenes that should read as emotional but instead feel awkward is another.

It's unfortunate, because this started out as a really good story! Avengers vs. Starjammers -- not a match-up anyone would naturally think of -- is a fun idea. And I know Epting and Palmer would've made it work, and Harras would've accompanied their illustrations with another great script. But with the regular artists both gone, and with a green artist filling in (this is some of Kevin West's earliest work for Marvel), the whole thing falls apart.

Next week, we're going to look at three issues in one go: a fill-in trilogy by Len Kaminski and M.C. Wyman, while Bob Harras is, I assume, busy trying to keep the X-Men line from falling apart due to the departures of Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld to found Image. (Just kidding -- I'm pretty sure it's actually because AVENGERS is on its bi-monthly summer schedule right now, which is likely why Steve Epting sits out the next three issues as well.)