AVENGERS #365

"FOR AN EMPIRE LOST..."
A Harras/Epting/Palmer Production
Letterer: Bill Oakley | Editor: Ralf Macchio
Assistant Editor: Pat Garrahy | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: The Avengers review recordings of a recent attack by the Kree in China, the latest in a string of similar assaults where a wall of energy appears and destroys everyone in its path. Every such occurrence has been followed by a recording from Admiral Galen Kor. But this time, Vision has tracked Kor's signal to a community in upstate New York called Owl's Head. Black Widow orders Vision, Black Knight, Hercules, and Crystal to investigate, and Deathcry insists on accompanying them. Meanwhile, in Owl's Head, Kor and his men discuss the fact that he deliberately uncloaked his signal so the Avengers would find him.

Later, as the Avengers approach Owl's Head, an electromagnetic pulse knocks them out of the sky and cripples Vision. Emerging from their Quinjet, the Avengers find that Galen Kor has created a new nega-bomb. Then, Kor fells all of the Avengers and takes them prisoner -- except for Vision, who was separated from the group during the EMP.

Continuity Notes: This is a standard-size issue, but the story is only fifteen pages long, with the remainder of the issue dedicated to pinups. You may recall that last issue featured two stories. There, the lead tale was also fifteen pages. Presumably this is all to minimize artistic fill-ins as Steve Epting and Tom Palmer must draw several double-sized issues throughout the Avengers' thirtieth anniversary year. (As mentioned a while back, next issue will be the third of four double-sized, foil-covered installments during 1993.)

When Black Widow dispatches Black Knight and the others to Owl's Head, she says that she and Captain America will remain behind to call in the reserves. Which seems like a flimsy way to write Cap out of the story. It was made clear several issues back that the Widow perfers to be more of a "behind-the-scenes" chairperson, so I have no issue with her hanging back -- but why wouldn't you send the team's best tactician into the field if there's a chance the group will find Galen Kor and his unit? (Also, the excuse becomes even flimsier when we see next issue that only one reservist show up, and it's a guy who is already at the mansion.)