AVENGERS #359

"GIFT OF THE GODS"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker/Colorist: Tom Palmer | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: Aboard a spacecraft, Black Knight, Black Widow, and Vision analyze the issue afflicting Polemachus's rings. Soon after, they return to the planet, where the Knight explains that in re-energizing the rings twice in recent years, Arkon has overcharged them -- but the Avengers believe they can correct his issue. Later, the Avengers head back into space with Arkon, where Crystal and Sersi use their powers in tandem with Arkon's dimension-hopping lightning bolts to drain off the excess energy into another realm. Crystal nearly falls into Arkon's portal as well, but Sersi saves her. Arkon closes the portal and the heroes return, victorious, to Polemachus.

There, they are greeted by the girl, Astra, who was to be executed to appease the gods. But to the horror of the Avengers and Arkon, the noble Anskar kills Astra anyway, proclaiming that the only way the Avengers could have saved the day was with the blessing and guidance of the gods, and that there must still be tribute for this kindness. Enraged, Sersi annihilates Anskar where he stands.

Continuity Notes: There are two epilogues to this issue -- in the first, Jarvis and Marilla, out for a walk with Luna in Central Park, run across Taylor Madison. After a brief chat, she asks them not to tell Hercules that they saw her, and then departs. Marilla observes that Taylor is in pain. Then, Magdalene, Cassandra, and Sloth return from a Gathering with a mystery being, and find that Proctor has activated a former Gatherer known as Tabula, who he says will help to retrieve the Swordsman.

AVENGERS #358

"ARKON'S ASYLUM"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker/Colorist: Tom Palmer | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: On the planet Polemachus, a noble named Anskar searches for the world's monarch, Arkon. Meanwhile, Arkon has appeared on Earth with his consort, Thundra, and a girl named Astra. The group is in a standoff with police when the Avengers arrive. A fight breaks out, but in the end Arkon and the heroes reach a ceasefire and return to Avengers Mansion. There, Arkon explains that the sky of Polemachus has gone red, and that his people demand a sacrifice to appease the gods. Astra was chosen, but Thundra convinced Arkon that killing her was not right, and the group fled to Earth.

Just then, Arkon, Thundra, Astra, and the Avengers are all teleported to Polemachus by Anskar. He imprisons the Avengers in a force field and appeals to Arkon to kill Astra. Though Astra is willing to play her part, Vision convinces Arkon to allow the Avengers time to repair Polemachus, as they have done before. Anskar disagrees, but tells Arkon he will give the Avengers twenty-four hours and then sacrifice Astra himself.

Continuity Notes: Swordsman is staying in a room at Avengers Mansion. He doesn't appear to be a prisoner, which seems a bit odd. Even though he may have begun to doubt Proctor, he was still trying to kill the heroes just a couple issues back! Marilla brings Swordsman some food and briefly recaps the history of his counterpart on the Avengers' Earth. Swordsman finds her story laughable, but Vision offers to show him that history -- however he is summoned to the meeting with Arkon before he can do so.

AVENGERS #357

"THE NIGHT VISITORS"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker/Colorist: Tom Palmer | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: To Jarvis's horror, Marilla has summoned the royal kitchen staff of Attilan to Avengers Mansion to prepare a feast for Black Widow's dinner party. Elsewhere in the mansion, the Avengers speak with Swordsman and discern that he is from a parallel reality. Meanwhile, Sersi has a dalliance with a gentleman in SoHo. Back at the mansion, Taylor Madison arrives for the party.

The Avengers and Taylor enjoy cocktails until Sersi arrives, and soon after, Jarvis announces dinner is served. But as the group sits down to eat, the Watcher appears and stares the Avenges down in silence, then vanishes. Meanwhile, on a pier elsewhere in manhattan, two detectives stand over the corpse of the man with whom Sersi had her fling.

Continuity Notes: Avengers-branded apparel continues to be all the rage among our heroes. Black Widow now sports the bomber jacket, and Crystal is seen in the opening pages wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the Avengers logo. (I will reiterate that I like the idea that Avengers have this sort of "company swag" available to them. It makes sense, especially given they're run like a corporation!)

Swordsman says that the white, ghostly Vision is the only version of the android he knows. When shown a hologram of the Vision's original look -- which is the only version the real Swordsman should be familiar with -- he doesn't recognize him. Likewise, he fails to recognize a holgram of his beloved Mantis, but when shown the visage of Moondragon, he calls her Mantis.

AVENGERS #356

"DEATH IN A GATHERING PLACE"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker & Colorist: Tom Palmer | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: In Wakanda, the Black Panther is attacked by the Gatherers. But, forewarned by the Avengers, he holds his own until Hercules, Thor, Vision, and Sersi arrive via Lockjaw's teleportation power. Black Panther finds Coal Tiger, brought along by the Gatherers, and struggles to determine why they share a face. Back at Avengers Mansion, Black Knight and Black Widow discuss the fact that they are the weakest of the Avengers following Gatherer Cassandra's telektinetic blast, and they had to stay behind because of that. In Wakanda, the battle continues, while Black Panther and Coal Tiger speak and realize they are the same person.

Swordsman begins to doubt what the Gatherers have told him, while Proctor observes from afar. Soon, the Avengers are dispatched and Cassandra begins a procedure to make Black Panther fade from existence, allowing Coal Tiger to remain in his place. But Swordsman can't countenance this, and stuns Cassandra. Hercules rejoins the fray, as does Thor -- accompanied by Wakanda's Elite Strike Force. The Gatherers are forced to retreat. With his dying breath, Coal Tiger thanks Swordsman for saving Black Panther's life. Then, as Swordman unsteadily attempts to follow the Gatherers through their "slash/way", Vision grabs him and keeps him in Wakanda, the Avengers' prisoner.

Continuity Notes: Crystal is weirdly nowhere to be seen this issue, despite Lockjaw's involvement. It's said that Black Knight and Black Widow remained behind because they are "mere mortals" and more susceptible to Cassandra's attacks -- unlike Thor, Hercules, Vision, and Sersi, who all have superhuman (or better) physiques. Crystal is mortal in terms of her body, I suppose, though unlike the Knight and Widow, she has super-powers. But in any case, it just seems odd she's not seen or even mentioned here, aside from the obvious implication that she summoned Lockjaw to help. (And help he does! He even gets into a fight with the Gatherers' animal-guy, Sloth!)

AVENGERS #355

"WHEN COME THE GATHERERS...!"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
join in congratulating Tom Palmer on his 100th issue
embellishing the adventures of the mighty Avengers!

The Plot: On another version of Earth, Swordsman, Magdalene, and their teammates, the Gatherers -- Cassandra and Sloth -- appear in a ruined New York just as Captain America dies outside Avengers Mansion. The Gatherers find more dead Avengers and one final living soul on Earth -- T'Challa, the Coal Tiger. The Gatherers return with the Tiger to Proctor.

On the real Earth, Black Knight has found matching energy signatures between Marissa Darrow's apartment, the Avengers emergency systems, and the skycar -- proving that someone has been in all three places. The Knight and Vision have prepared a countermeasure for further such tampering, and Black Widow orders them to implement it immediately. Meanwhile, Proctor stabilizes the dying Coal Tiger, then orders the Gatherers to Avengers Mansion to find his counterpart in the main dimension. The Gatherers teleport into the mansion at night, but are confronted by the Avengers, alerted by Black Knight's new system.

A battle breaks out, but the Gatherers prove too much for the Avengers to handle. The heroes are defeated, but left alive per Proctor's order. The Gatherers get the information they needed and depart for Wakanda to find T'Challa, the Black Panther.

AVENGERS #352, #353, & #354

"SON OF DARKNESS" | "TO WAKE THE DEAD" | "THE CONQUEROR WORM"
Writer: Len Kaminski | Penciler: M.C. Wyman
Inkers: Tom Palmer (#352), Ariane Lenshoek (#353-354), Steve Alexandrov (#354)
Letterers: Rick Parker (#352), Chris Eliopoulos (#353), Bill Oakley (#354)
Colorists: Tom Palmer (#352), Ariane Lenshoek & Rob Tokar (#353), Mike Thomas (#354)
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 352) The Grim Reaper appeals to the dark god Lloigoroth for supernatural powers, and they are granted him. Soon after, the Reaper causes an airliner to crash, killing everyone aboard. He leaves a calling card in the form of a large stone skull beside the wreckage. The Avengers are summoned to investigate, and take the plane's "black box" back their mansion. Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper next tranports a subway train into another dimension. He then appears at Avengers Mansion and tells the heroes to come to the caverns where he first died. The Avengers travel there and descend underground, battling supernatural creatures conjured by the Reaper. The Reaper himself appears again and transports the Avengers to another realm.

(Issue 353) In a Hades-like world, the Avengers battle the souls of those killed by the Grim Reaper. As the heroes search for their enemy, the Reaper gloats over several living humans he has captured. The Avengers soon find the Reaper's hideout, while within, the Reaper uses his magic powers to turn his prisoners into a new Legion of the Unliving, composed of super-villains who died battling the Avengers. The Avengers enter the Reaper's home, but are attacked by the Legion, and seemingly defeated in the darkness.

(Issue 354) The Grim Reaper watches as his Legion battles the Avengers. The heroes all appear to have met their matches in the various villains, but Vision slips away and confronts the Reaper in his inner sanctum. There, Vision, reminds the Reaper that the Avengers did not kill him -- the Reaper took his own life when he realized how much evil he had done. When the Reaper is forced to acknowledge this, he loses his control over the villains' souls. They attack him, and then Lloigoroth appears, telling the Reaper he is disappointed. Lloigoroth consumes the Reaper, and the Avengers are transported back to their home dimension. They emerge from the caves and return to their Quinjet.

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.