FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #18

"SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW!"
Plot: John Byrne | Script: Mark Gruenwald | Pencils: Mark Bright
Inks: Mike Gustovich |Letters: Phil Felix | Colors: Petra Scotese
Editor: Michael Carlin | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Ten lunar orbits ago on the Moon, while the X-Men fought for the life of Phoenix, observers from the Kree and Skrull empires began their own private war in the Moon’s Blue Area. Eventually the Watcher pulled them to his home to receive communications from their respective leaders, the Kree Supreme Intelligence and the Kree Empress R’Klll. The leaders ordered Bel-Dann the Kree and Raksor the Skrull to continue their war as proxies of their entire empires. The winner would determine the victor of the eons-long conflict between the Kree and the Skrulls.

In the present, the Fantastic Four arrive on the Moon for the wedding of Black Bolt and Medusa of the Inhumans. But the ceremony is interrupted as the battles between Bel-Dann and Raksor begin to damage the foundations of the Inhuman city, Attilan. The FF and Inhuman royal family investigate and battle the warring aliens, who escape.

Later, Mister Fantastic hatches a plan to overcome the aliens, whose fighting has gotten dangerously close to Attilan’s nuclear power plant. He and Black Bolt enlist the Watcher’s aid and then confront the aliens again. Bel-Dann and Raksor defeat the Fantastic Four and Inhumans together, and the Watcher decrees that both empires have won, for only by unifying their forces can they ever bring an end to their wars. The Watcher teleports the two aliens back to their empires, then the Inhumans and FF resume celebrating.

AVENGERS ANNUAL #17

"PROMETHEUS MUTANS!"
Writing: Walter Simonson | Penciling: Mark Bright | Inking: Mike & Valerie Gustovich
Lettering: Oakley, Heisler, Parker | Coloring: Evelyn Stein
Editing: Mark Gruenwald | Editing-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: The High Evolutionary's Gatherers activate former Avenger Jocasta to gain intelligence on Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but Jocasta gets a distress call out to the Avengers' old telephone line. The Avengers' computer summons all available reservists to respond, and a group of interim Avengers is formed. This team rescues Jocasta and learns of the High Evolutionary's plan, then they head beneath the sea to investigate.

The Avengers find the nations of Lemuria and Atlantis at war, but Captain America convinces them to make peace and turn their energies against the High Evolutionary. As the combined Atlantean/Lemurian force attacks the Evolutionary's submarine, the Avengers sneak aboard and sow mutiny among the Evolutionary's men. This draws the attention of the Evolutionary, who battles the Avengers. As the fight proceeds, the Beast uses the Evolutionary's equipment to evolve Hercules into "more than a god", and Hercules and the Evolutionary destroy each other in final combat.

Jocasta sacrifices herself to blow up the High Evolutionary's submarine, vaporizing his genetic bomb in the process before it can be detonated. The surviving Avengers return to New York.