AVENGERS #344

The mighty assemblers must face...
"ECHOES OF THE PAST"
Writer: Bob Harras | Pencils: Steve Epting | Inks: Tom Palmer
Colors: Tom Palmer | Letters: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Note: This issue (or at least the version reprinted in the AVENGERS: THE GATHERING OMNIBUS) does not include credits. The above are pulled from Comics.org.

The Plot: On a rooftop near Four Freedoms Plaza, the Avengers are confronted by the Swordsman and his companion, Magdalene. After ranting at the Avengers for letting him die, Swordsman attacks. He sends Thor flying, while Magdalene goes toe-to-toe with Hercules. Soon, Crystal comes to Hercules's aid while Black Knight engages the Swordsman. Black Knight eventually stuns Swordsman with his laser sword, so Magdalene abandons the fight and calls to someone named Proctor to teleport the Swordsman and herself away.

While the battered Avengers regroup, Magdalene and Swordsman appear in a remote control room, where the mysterious Proctor heals Swordsman and speaks of revenge on Captain America and the Avengers. At Avengers Mansion, the group decides that the man they battled was the real Swordsman, somehow back from the dead, and wonders what to do next.

Continuity Notes: There's lots going on between the main conflict's pages in this one! First, Luna's nursemaid, Marilla, gets into a spat with Jarvis in the Avengers' kitchen when Marilla tries to doctor Jarvis's recipe to make his food more palatable to Crystal. In the same scene, Sersi returns to the mansion unexpectedly. Jarvis tells her where the Avengers are and mentions that Captain America has been concerned for her, but Sersi declares that her life is her own. Then, as she leaves to go join the team, she is stopped when she catches sight of her own reflection and begins babbling to herself.

AVENGERS #343

"FIRST NIGHT"
A story of acquaintances, old and new, brought to you by...
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steven Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Colorist: Tom Palmer | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: On the roof of Avengers Mansion, Vision, Jarvis, and the new Thor welcome Crystal, her daughter Luna, and Luna's nursemaid, Marilla, to their new home. While Jarvis escorts Marilla and Luna to Luna's room, the rest of the group encounters Hercules and the Black Knight battling a group of robots in a hallway. Thor and Crystal team up to defeat the robots, after which Captain America and Black Widow appear. The veteran Avengers inform Crystal and Thor that this was a surprise test of their abilities.

The next morning, while Captain America and Black Widow are away in California for a meeting with the West Coast Avengers, a priority alarm comes in from the Human Torch, in which he says the Fantastic Four are under attack. Vision scrambles Crystal, Thor, Hercules, and the Black Knight (with his winged steed, Valinor) to investigate. But when the heroes reach Four Freedoms Plaza, they find nothing amiss, and the Fantastic Four apparently not home. Then the Avengers are attacked by an energy bolt that sends them falling from the sky. The heroes land on a rooftop and find themselves confronted by the long-thought-dead Swordsman and an armored mystery woman.

Continuity Notes: As noted above, this Thor is not the original God of Thunder, but is rather the mortal, Eric Masterson, acting as Thor while the real McCoy is banished per events in his own series. Masterson is none too pleased by the Avengers' test, mentioning that it's the second time the group has pulled something like this, as Hercules apparently attacked him to test his mettle in THOR #437. It should be noted that this is "my" Thor -- i.e., when I was a kid, really beginning to explore the Marvel Universe, this was the Thor I knew from things like INFINITY GAUNTLET and WAR, random assorted issues of this AVENGERS run, and so forth.

AVENGERS #340, #341, & #342

"CLAY SOLDIERS"
Plot: David Michelinie | Script: Scott Lobdell
Pencils: Paul Abrams | Inks: Robert Jones & Chuck Barnette
Letterer: Brad K. Joyce | Colorists: Renee Witterstaetter & Marie Javins
Edits: Ralf Macchio | More Edits: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: Captain America, Wasp, Hercules, She-Hulk, and Iron Man attend the opening of New York's new super hero medical research and treatment facility -- but the festivities are interrupted when a woman races toward Captain America for help, but gets hit by a car in the process. In Cap's arms, the woman warns him that "he's crazy" and that Cap must help "the children." Then she passes out. Later, at Avengers Mansion, Wasp and Jarvis dig up information on the injured woman, learning that she is married to a weapons manufacturer named Itzhak Berditchev, and that the couple has ten year-old quintuplet sons. Realizing these must be the children in question and suspecting that Berditchev recently stole some plutonium from Austria, Cap and Wasp send Jarvis, undercover as a gunrunner named Armond Carlyle III, to infiltrate Berditchev's estate while they follow.

At the estate, Jarvis gains entrance as Cap and Wasp sneak around the grounds. Wasp feigns unconsciousness when sprayed with gas, and Cap races into Berditchev's hedge maze. Jarvis is taken prisoner by two of Berditchev's sons, but manages to escape them. Elsewhere, Cap speaks with Berditchev via a video screen and learns that he saved Berditchev, then a child, from a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, and that Berditchev has since patterend his life -- and the lives of his sons -- around a twisted understanding of Cap's ideals. Soon, Cap overcomes Berditchev's assassin, Bulwark, while Jarvis and Wasp appeal to the children and turn them against their father. When everyone eventually crosses paths in Berditchev's control room, the munitions dealer has a nervous breakdown. He and Bulwark are arrested, and the Avengers prepare to turn his sons over to their recovering mother.

Continuity Notes: In the opening pages, Iron Man mulls over his "recent health problems" as seen in issues of his own title, while Hercules confides in She-Hulk that he feels like the "token god," covering while Thor is unavailable due to events in his ongoing series. There's also a reference to the Avengers' encounter with Thane Ector and the Collector last issue. Later in the story, Jarvis recalls his injuries at the hands of the Masters of Evil in AVENGERS #275.

In the issue, Wasp wears the costume she's shown using on the cover, but it's colored yellow-and-blue instead of blue-and-white.

AVENGERS #338 & #339

"INFECTIOUS COMPULSIONS" | "FINAL REDEMPTION"
A tale of loss and endings by
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Letterers: Bill Oakley w/Rick Parker (issue 338)
Colorists (issue 338): Witterstaetter, Mossoff & Tinsley
Colorists (issue 339): Tinsley, Mossoff, Scott & Skolnik
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 338) Within the Bretrhen's habitat, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar, and the Collector bury Naka. But no sooner have they completed this task and begun to anaylze the area, than another being bursts from the ground: Olar, oldest of the Brethren. On Earth, in Thane Ector's citadel, the fool visits Sybyl Dorn as she prepares to challenge and kill Thane Ector for betrying his people. At Avengers Mansion, Vision, Crystal, and Lockjaw return from a trip to the moon with Hank Pym, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar, the Collector, and Olar in tow. Beast reveals that the Brethren are little more than evolved germs, and the Avengere prepare to study Olar, with his permission, for more data.

The fool, however, has been spying on the Avengers and collects a recording of the group making their plans. Just as Sybyl Dorn has roused the Brethren against Than Ector, the fool appears and shows all present that the Avengers have captured Olar and are consorting with the Collector. Now believing the Avengers to be no better than the Collector himself, Ector turns on Sersi and orders his people to attack Avengers Mansion. After they leave, Sersi confesses to the fool that she knows the Brethren's secret. Meanwhile, Pym and Beast are studying Olar when someone knocks them out and kills the oldest Brethren. The Brethren then arrive and attack. Thane Ector gets past the heroes and begins beating the Collector, until the Collector reveals a new, stronger form and says that it was he who released the Brethren and sent them to Earth.

AVENGERS #336 & #337

"FOR HERE WE MAKE OUR STAND!" | "MUD AND GLORY?"
A tale of battle and fury by...
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Letters: Bill Oakley & Rick Parker | Colors: Christie Scheele & Renee Witterstaetter
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 336) Thane Ector erects a citadel atop the World Trade Center, and then sends his troops into Manhattan to estabish a perimeter. At Avengers Mansion, Captain America, recovering from the wounds he sustained in battle with Ector, speaks with President Bush regarding the situation. He then sends the Avengers out to face the Brethren. On the moon, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar and the Collector escape from the creature that had attacked them. They land their miniaturized craft and are surrounded by a tribe of the Collector's captive beings.

On Earth, the Avengers battle the Brethren in Manhattan, while Thane Ector observes from his citadel. Ector visits the captive Sersi and attempts to woo her, but his fool is displeased with this behavior and mind-blasts Ector. Aboard the Collector's ship, the Avengers make peace with the tribe. The beings explain that the Brethren escaped from their habitat on the ship and traveled from exhibit to exhibit, conquering each mini-biosphere, before they ultimately left. Back on Earth, Captain America and Black Widow arrive to battle the Brethren, and are joined shortly by Crystal and Lockjaw.

(Issue 337) In the sewer beneath Manhattan, Thane Ector and his fool chat about their race and eat some sludge. Aboard the Collector's ship, the miniturized Avengers contingent and the Collector, now joined by a tribesman named Nakka, continue on their quest through the Collector's various habitats. Meanwhile, the Watcher appears to observe Hank Pym in the Collector's ship. On Earth, the Avengers have regrouped in their mansion, where Crystal expresses interest in joining the team. Captain America agrees to allow her in on a probationary basis until after the Brethren have been dealt with.

Nick Fury calls Captain America to inform him that everyone killed by the Brethren has been stripped of all germs and bacteria. Meanwhile, Sybil Dorn attacks Sersi inside the citadel, transforming into a huge goop-monster during the skirmish. Thane Ector appears and sends Sybil away, then reveals to Sersi that the Brethren were mutated by the Celestials from germs. On the moon, the Watcher nudges Pym to direct his fellow Avengers toward the Brethren's habitat. As soon as the heroes reach it, Nakka dies and rapidly decomposes.

AVENGERS #334 & #335

"FIRST ENCOUNTER"
Story: Bob Harras | Pencils: Andy Kubert | Inks: Tom Palmer
Letters: John Costanza | Colors: Christie Scheele
Editor: Howard Mackie | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: On the moon, Quicksilver and the Inhumans Karnak and Timberius, along with one of the Inhumans' Alpha Primitive servants, investigate a recently crashed spacecraft near the Watcher's citadel. Quicksilver decides the Avengers may be interested in the ship and attempts to signal them, but a force field seals him and his friends into a bubble with the ship just as he activates the call. Seconds later, the group is confronted by creatures called the Brethren, led by the sinister Thane Ector.

On Earth, the Avengers receive a brief snippet of Quicksilver's signal. Moments later, the Inhuman princess (and estranged wife of Quicksilver) Crystal appears with her teleporting dog, Lockjaw, to enlist the Avengers' aid. The team flies a Quinjet to the moon, where they are greeted by Black Bolt and Medusa outside the force field. The Inhumans attempt to break through, but fail. Quasar and Sersi then make an attempt of their own.

Meanwhile, inside the field, Thane Ector has beaten Quicksilver in an attempt to interrogate him. When Ector turns his attention to Timberius, the Inhuman tells him that Earth is nearby. Ector perpares to execute Quicksilver, but the Alpha Primitive jumps in and is killed instead. Just then, the field disappears and the Avengers and Inhumans arrive. After a brief skirmish, the Brethren teleport away. The Watcher appears leads the Avengers in exploring the crashed ship. Inside, the heroes find a collection of beings from various civilzations, and then they locate the ship's master: the Collector, in agony following a fight with Thane Ector.

AVENGERS BY BOB HARRAS, STEVE EPTING, & TOM PALMER

We spent the majority of this year (and going way back to mid-2021, in fact) in Marvel's 1970s, so I was thinking it's time to skip ahead a couple decades to an era I've surprisingly visited very rarely around here, considering it's when I did the majority of my formative comic book reading: the dreaded 1990s! And specifically, we're going to look at a run which is weirdly near and dear to me, though I've read precious little of it: The multi-year AVENGERS saga by writer Bob Harras, penciler Steve Epting, and mainstay inker Tom Palmer.

See, when I was a lad in middle school (around 13-15 years old), these were the Avengers: Black Knight wielding a lightsaber, Sersi dressed in red and black, Crystal in white and black, clean-shaven Hercules, and more -- and all wearing matching leather bomber jackets! I didn't read the AVENGERS series, but I saw this group in things like Jim Starlin's INFINITY trilogy, the X-Men's "Bloodties" crossover, and more. And my best friend back then did read the book, so I would peruse issues at his house -- and I liked what I saw! Not enough to start reading the title myself, but that was most likely simply due to the fact that my limited comic budget was tied up mostly with Spider-Man and the X-Men.

Still, I never forgot this run. (I even told Bob Harras how much I had enjoyed what I'd seen of it when I met him at the San Diego Comic-Con in 1999!) And back at the beginning of the year, I used a Christmas gift card to buy the AVENGERS: THE GATHERING Omnibus, which I had regretted passing on when it was first released in 2020. On top of that, I've also picked up digital editions of the Epic Collections covering this run in various Comixology/Amazon sales in recent years. So I'm pretty well armed at this point to delve into the Avengers of the nineties.