Space-Born Super Hero Part 41: The End.

Here are my parting thoughts on the series I've been running on this blog called 'Space-Born Super Hero'. The recent Captain Marvel motion picture prompted me to think about the character of Captain Mar-Vell, and in particular how out-of-focus his adventures prior to the arrival of Jim Starlin were. By the time Starlin drew Captain Marvel #25, Captain Marvel had been a Marvel super hero for about six years. What went on during those six years?

Now, my own exposure to Mar-Vell's earlier adventures was somewhat limited - although I wrote for The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, I never needed to delve into the character often. Heck, I'm not sure if I even had to do a write-up on the Kree. I suppose blogging about the early Captain Marvel stories interested me because it was an avenue of Marvel Comics I hadn't delved into before, likely the only 1960s super hero stuff I hadn't read from start to finish.

At the same time, I knew of the book's reputation. I knew many in fandom at the time despised the series because he had 'robbed' the moniker 'Captain Marvel' from the defunct Fawcett hero. I have some fascination with terrible comic books, as my Bitter Fruit series targeting the Shadow will attest. However, I also enjoy defying conventional wisdom. Perhaps the comics weren't that bad? So... what did I find?

Not as advertised.

Perhaps the strangest discovery I made was that the picture I had in my head of Captain Marvel's personality was all wrong. I'd based my ideas on Jim Starlin's stories (which I first read in The Life of Captain Marvel) and I had the impression that Mar-Vell came to Earth as an invader but had the heart of a hero, causing him to take a stand against the Kree. I knew he had loved Una and lost her to one of his enemies. I had this image of a noble but tragic hero who gives up everything from his upbringing to save Earth.

But... that's not really what happened. Mar-Vell is frustratingly obtuse about his motives throughout the early parts of the series. There is a sense that he's a dedicated soldier who refuses to betray his uniform, but at the same time is ordered to take hostile actions against humanity. However, he would find loopholes to avoid having to take a stand for his principles, such as in Captain Marvel #7 where he tricked Yon-Rogg into thinking he killed a town of people with a plague (they were all robots).

Instead, Mar-Vell lacks agency; Yon-Rogg despises Mar-Vell from the start and wants him dead (although strangely, not so much because of Una, which is what I thought his motivation was; he only really claims that was his motivation after Una dies). The Kree are shown as paranoid war-mongers who have it in for Mar-Vell and will execute him the moment he shows signs of disloyalty. In the end, what causes Mar-Vell to leave the military? He destroys the Organization after being told to form an alliance with them. Like, seriously, Mar-Vell is given the death sentence because he killed humans.

Once Mar-Vell is forced out of the military, he's motivated by revenge, not any affection for Earth or anyone else. His nobility is still lacking; even after bonding with Rick Jones, where Mar-Vell is frequently cast in the role of Rick's conscience, he mostly pops out of the Negative Zone to help save Rick from a problem he's gotten himself into. Again, where's the agency? What does Mar-Vell want for himself? Why does he do the things he does?

Such a limited sphere.

Part of what makes Captain Marvel so boxed-in and easy to avoid is that almost no one introduced in the pages of Captain Marvel goes on to bigger and better things. You've got Mar-Vell and his two iconic costumes; you've got him bonded to Rick Jones via the Negative Zone; you've got supporting character Carol Danvers... that's it. He is part of the Kree-Skrull War, but it goes on entirely in the pages of the Avengers, where the character with the most impact on the plot is the Vision. None of Mar-Vell's brand-new foes such as the Metazoid, Solam or the Organization went on to greater things. Heck, outside of Lou-Ann Savannah, almost no one in the first 24 issues has any bearing on Jim Starlin's run.

And there's Zo.

Yeah, Zo. So, Zo was terrible, but not quite as terrible as I'd been led to think. The idea of Mar-Vell having a cosmic benefactor is one which Starlin came back to with his character Eon. Zo, however, is just way too much of a non-character. Eon's purpose is clear from the start - he's a champion of life and needs Mar-Vell to help defeat Thanos, so gives him the power he needs. Zo doesn't explain what he wants or why Mar-Vell is the person to help him get it and grants him odd powers which Mar-Vell barely ever thinks to employ. Gary Friedrich added some minor interest to the character by bringing in trippy hippie visuals, but Zo's presence continued to highlight the problems with the series - which again and again, come down to Mar-Vell possessing a poorly-defined character motivation.

Was it all terrible?

No, certainly not. Gil Kane's issues were absolutely lovely and Mar-Vell appearances in the Avengers were all classic stories I quite enjoyed. I found much of Don Heck's art lacking, but he pulled off some very nice art in Captain Marvel#16.

There was promise, certainly. That's what I felt in the last few issues of Captain Marvel. Gerry Conway's story in Captain Marvel #22 started off well enough, but I felt Marv Wolfman whiffed it on the second half; the same thing happened with Captain Marvel #24, which had some nice art by Wayne Boring and great character designs, but became a little muddled when Wolfman had to write an ending to the story.

The nadir, I'm sorry to say, were the Arnold Drake issues. I commend him for trying to create new adversaries for Mar-Vell, particularly the Aakon. I also think his idea that Mar-Vell's other identity - Dr. Walter Lawson - was actually a villain was a fascinating idea, yet he barely glanced on it, other than using it as a means to get the world's worst robotic assassin into comics. I'm torn between which of his stories was the worst; was it the rushed and poorly-scripted Captain Marvel #10? Or was it Captain Marvel #11, where they muffed up Una's death, drew the wrong villains and introduced Zo? Wait, I take it back, #11 was definitely the worst.

I'm glad I know more about this little cul-de-sac of the Marvel Universe. And now to move on and never think of it again...

Space-Born Super Hero Part 40: Avengers #108

By the Pama! At last, I'm at the last comic I'm going to review in this series. Avengers #108 (1973) is Captain Marvel's last appearance prior to Jim Starlin's arrival in Captain Marvel #25. The story is "Check--and Mate!" by Steve Englehart, Don Heck, Dave Cockrum and Joe sinnott. The story follows on from what began in Avengers #106 with the Grim Reaper and Space Phantom having made an alliance with the hordes of Hydra. At this point in time, the Grim Reaper was motivated to fight the Avengers because he blamed them for the death of his brother, Wonder Man. Having learned the Vision's mind was based on that of Wonder Man's, the Reaper now concocts a scheme to plant Vision within Wonder Man's body, granting Vision the true humanity he's long desired. It's tempting to the Vision, but he mostly just plays along with the Reaper while the other Avengers do their thing.

The Avengers don't seem to do a particularly great job against the Space Phantom as Vision, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch end up being captured and the Space Phantom heads to Avengers Mansion to tie up any loose ends by catching Jarvis and Rick Jones. However, Rick fights back against the Space Phantom and the villain decides to use his ability to assume other people's forms by claiming Rick Jones' body; however, at the very instant he does so, Rick vanishes and Captain Marvel appears! With Rick Jones cast into the Negative Zone, the Space Phantom can't perform his appearance-swapping trick and is cast into Limbo by the effects of his own powers. Afterward, Mar-Vell informs the Avengers that he and Rick had helped come up with this plan to aid the team, and the Scarlet Witch even threw her fight with the Space Phantom so that she could warn Rick. The threat is finished but the Scarlet Witch is still uptight about her missing brother, Quicksilver; Vision consoles her as their romance continues to bloom.

Thoughts: Captain Marvel appears for less than 2 pages, but as he and Rick had been brought in at the outset of this storyline, it doesn't feel cheap for him to turn up, and using the Rick/Mar-Vell body swap as a means to undo the Space Phantom's body swap powers is a neat idea -- kudos to Englehart for thinking of it.

And that's all there is in terms of plot recaps; let's sum this up.

Next: The finale! What exactly did I learn from this 40-part series? Let's find out!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 39: Captain Marvel #24

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero'! Jim Starlin became artist (and soon writer) of the series Captain Marvel as of issue #25 and today I'm finally up to issue #24 (1973), precisely one issue before he completely redefined the character. So, let's revisit "Death in High Places!" by Marv Wolfman & Wayne Boring (inks by Ernie Chan). The story opens with a really sharply-drawn splash page of a woman called Madame Synn catching Rick Jones in the sites of her sniper rifle. There's an inset of her rifle's scope as she pulls in nearer---nearer--and pulls the trigger! Nothing happens. She turns to her boss, Dr. Mynde. "Had I actually fired, Rick Jones would now be very, very dead!" This is apparently all according to plan; Dr. Mynde, man with steel-gauntleted hands sitting in a wheelchair, activates a remote-controlled car loaded with explosives, sending it to run Rick over. Dr. Mynde has already calculated how long it will take for Rick to realize his danger and summon Captain Marvel (so apparently Rick's been lousy at the secret identity thing). Sure enough, Rick changes places with Mar-Vell and the hero diverts the car to where the explosion won't injure anyone. Mar-Vell wonders what exactly that was about.

Dr. Mynde is satisfied: "Rick Jones is definitely our little pigeon... and not even Captain Marvel can stop us." The final thread is Benjamin Savannah, Lou-Ann's uncle who we've come to know over the last two issues. Dr. Mynde tells Madame Synn to change her clothing from the skimpy skintight number she's wearing. "Ben would have a coronary if he saw you in your fighting garb." Mar-Vell fails to turn up any leads on the car which attacked Rick, so flies to Lou-Ann's apartment and switches places with Rick.

Rick finally unburdens himself to Lou-Ann about his life - the heroes he's fought alongside with and his connection to Captain Marvel. Soon they're at her uncle's home (what a hot date!) where Professor Savannah introduces them to his friend Leonard Mynde. Dr. Mynde talks about the changes which have happened to Rick's molecular structure (last two issues) and believes he can do something about the photon energy which Rick has been emitting. Rick agrees to let Mynde have a look. Mynde brings Rick to his estate all the way in Northern Virginia and shows off the small army of guards he has in ihs employ. Mar-Vell warns Rick that he senses an "evil aura" around Mynde but Rick is desperate to be released from his bondage to Mar-Vell. "Then you can find some other poor sucker who wants to be a hero!" Meanwhile, Mynde and Madame Synn are going over a plan to conquer the Pentagon. "Others have tried... Dr. Doom... the Red Skulll... but where they failed, I will succeed..." Unfortunately, Mynde terribly well-constructed plan is ruined because Rick is eavesdropping on him.

Mynde sends a few of his guards to rough up Rick, who insists on fighting for himself instead of bringing out Captain Marvel. However, once the trio of guards are beaten, Madame Synn throws a bolo which snares Rick's legs and she drops him with one punch. Dr. Mynde then rises from his wheelchair, showing off his entire body for the first time: he's a cyborg! Also, now he's ranting about ruling the Earth.

Mynde goes into a monologue (why yes, before you ask, he is a Republic serial villain) and describes how he and Professor Savannah designed weapons for the Pentagon. Savannah thought the weapons would be used for peaceful purposes, but Mynde had no such illusions. He knew there was a secret arsenal beneath the Pentagon where weapons such as theirs were housed and he was determined to get at them; his snooping cost him his government job. Then he discovered he was dying of radiation poisoning so he transplanted his head on to a cyborg body. As you do. "In my new body, I am invincible... immortal... and the dreams of an immortal are greater than those of any frail human. ...I dream of ruling the world." Mynde holds out Rick's Avengers ID card, which Rick threw away in Captain Marvel #17. Mynde retrieved the card and later saw Rick become Captain Marvel (which sounds dubious, as Rick went from New York to Florida by hitchhiking before becoming Mar-Vell).

Anyway, Mynde bided his time, rebuilding his cybernetic body so he could face Captain Marvel in a fight. He reveals Lou-Ann and Benjamin Savannah are his prisoners to force Rick to aid him with his plot. Rick drives Mynde and Synn to the Pentagon and uses his Avengers ID to gain access to the building (it's amazing to think that as a teenager, Rick was given the same kind of security clearance which the Avengers held). Mynde keeps Rick walking ahead of him as they move to the weapons room. Mynde summons a drone strike to hit the Pentagon just then as his private army begins a frontal assault and Rick uses the opportunity to become Captain Marvel. Mynde isn't worried, as he felt sure they would have to fight eventually. They seem evenly-matched so far as strength goes, so Mar-Vell resorts to grabbing Madame Synn to use as a hostage; this is a terrible plan, which Synn proves by tossing Mar-Vell with a judo throw.

Synn suggests Mynde should simply end the fight and kill Captain Marvel. Mynde agrees and readies a blaster from inside his cybernetic arm. However, Mar-Vell starts to revive. Synn lunges forward to deal with him, just as Mynde squeezes the trigger; his blast kills Synn instead of Mar-Vell. Mynde's mind snaps and he places the blaster to his own head, so insane with sorrow that he doesn't realize he's killing himself. Mynde dies.

Thoughts: A mixed bag. Wayne Boring's art is quite lovely, much better than the last two issues, it feels as though he were trying to channel Gil Kane. As I noted above, the splash page was very well done. The character designs are nifty too.

But Wolfman's story...! Once again he resorts to odd coincidences to place his plot together, with Mynde not only an old friend of Professor Savannah, but also somehow watching Rick back when he and Mar-Vell were bonded? It's too contrived and Mynde is too much of a typical comic book super-villain. It would actually have been more interesting if Mynde were trying to manipulate Rick without knowing of his link to Captain Marvel, while Rick simply held Mar-Vell back out of stubborness... much as the story played out, in fact. The way Rick has begun to resent Mar-Vell makes him a fairly unpleasant lead character, while poor Marv has become a supporting character in his own title! Something had to change and that something was, of course, Jim Starlin...

Next: ...But we're not there quite yet. Another quick detour to Avengers #108 before the end!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 38: Avengers #106

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero' and we're now nearly at the end of Captain Marvel's pre-Jim Starlin era. Today I'm looking at Avengers #106 (1972), entitled "A Traitor Stalks Among Us!" by Steve Englehart, Rich Buckler and George Tuska (inks by Dave Cockrum). This is Englehart's first time approaching Captain Marvel and he'd eventually succeed Starlin as the writer of the Captain Marvel series.

We open at Avengers Mansion as Captain America finds the Vision brooding. The rest of the team is out looking for Quicksilver while Vision admits to Cap that he's convinced he's unable to experience love due to his android nature. Suddenly Rick Jones storms in, once again angry at Captain America and the Avengers for leaving him to fend for himself. As a bitter boast, Rick declares, "Rick Jones is here to tell you he can do his own protectin' now, 'cause he's got a thing goin' with--Captain Marvel!" he strikes his Nega-Bands together to show off he and Mar-Vell renewed connection (you'll recall the Avengers didn't learn about their connection 'til Avengers #89, when they helped Rick get out of the Negative Zone). As Rick does this, Captain America has a sudden vision of himself and Rick battling Hydra a couple of years earlier when Rick had been dressed as Bucky. But Rick has memory of the particular battle Cap is remembering. This leads the Avengers into an investigation which involves the Grim Reaper and the Space Phantom.

Thoughts: I'm glancing over this one because only one scene has to do with Captain Marvel, and even then he only appears in the panel where Rick strikes his Nega-Bands together. Rick seems a bit out of character compared to how reasonably he and Cap patched things up back in Avengers #72, but he had been sniping at Mar-Vell in recent issues of their own title, so I suppose it's just Rick's present mood.

Next: Captain Marvel #24!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 37: Captain Marvel #23

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero' as I examine the pre-Jim Starlin years of Marvel Comics' Captain Marvel - and we're very nearly at Jim Starlin! Today I'm up to Captain Marvel #23 (1972) and the story "Death at the End of the World" by Marv Wolfman & Wayne Boring (inks by Frank McLaughlin). I have no idea why Gerry Conway didn't stick around to finish the story he began last issue. Anyway, we resume with Captain Marvel encountering Megaton the Nuclear Man, who is in serious danger of exploding (and beating DC's Firestorm to his own tagline). Megaton is raving insanely about getting back at his rivals, even wishing to strike back at his wife Christine and brother-in-law Raymond. In this state, he even attacks Mar-Vell, so the hero defends himself - but it's difficult because the radioactive Megataon is emitting heat from his body and even grows in size as they fight. Mar-Vell flies straight up into the sky while holding Megaton and drops him into a power station, hoping the station will leech of his excess energy. However, well-intentional emergency crews move in to save Megaton and while he's been weakened, he's still very dangerous.

Mar-Vell feels drained of power and switches back to Rick Jones; Rick is similarly weakened, much as he would get in his earlier adventures with Mar-Vell. He stumbles into a cafe where Lou-Ann is singing and collapses. Lou-Ann remarks "Every time I see you, you're passing out," and helps carry him back to her uncle, Professor Savannah. The professor's setup seems to have changed slightly since last issue as he now has a robot called Nuron who helps him ferry Rick to a table where he can give him another photon ray treatment.

Meanwhile, the weakened Megaton is brought to a Manhattan jail by the police who found inside the ruined power station. They throw him in a cell with a man named Hawker and Megaton flashes back to his origin again. This time we get additional details: the scientist had found something was draining their station's nuclear reactor and Jules went on a search to find out what; he discovered an outpost of the Kree and walked right into a psycho-tron device which automatically ensnared him and began performing psychological tests on him. Jules began going insane from the tests until he finally got out of the Kree base and went to bring the other researchers there, but when he returned, the psycho-tron exploded. Jules began glowing with energy as they returned to their station, which is when it exploded. So, now we know a little more about why Jules is so unstable. Finishing his reminiscence, Megaton drains energy from Hawker to empower himself, then breaks out of his cell and does the same to the police, again growing in size. But he's not satisfied yet - he wants more energy. "Enough to trample this whole blasted earth..."

Rick is being subjected to the photon ray treatment when Megaton bursts in, determined to soak up energy from the ray machine. Rick tries to concentrate and bring Mar-Vell back to fight Megaton, but he can't do it. Realizing Megaton is nearly critical mass, Rick tries to warn him. Uncertain whether Rick is right, Megaton picks him and flies them both to the Arctic and the scene of the Kree base (I guess Megaton can fly now?). Fortunately, there's a pair of Nega-Bands just sitting there in the outpost, so Rick puts them on, then clangs them together to unleash Captain Marvel. Mar-Vell insists that Megaton is dying, but Megaton refuses to listen and starts belting Mar-Vell with waves of radiation. The panels begin listing a countdown, starting at 50 seconds. Megaton asserts there's a machine in the Kree base which will drain his excess energy, but he doesn't even bother looking for it, instead continuing to battle Mar-Vell. Mar-Vell brags, "In the universal scheme of things--you're nothing! Even the cowardly Skrulls were more of a match than you... and still Captain Marvel defeated them!" Er, if he's referring to the Kree-Skrull War then it was Rick who did the heavy lifting, not Marv.

Mar-Vell finally carries Megaton straight into the air and hurls him up high, allowing him to explode. Man, atomic explosions happen fairly often in this series, don't they? (see Captain Marvel #4 & Sub-Mariner #30). Even if it hadn't been for Nitro, it's little wonder Mar-Vell eventually died of cancer.

Thoughts: After a decent first part by Gerry Conway, unfortunately Marv Wolfman kinda muffed the climax. It's never a good sign when a super-villain's origin is retconned one issue after his first appearance; I don't see that the entire Psycho-tron experience added anything to Megaton - I assumed his weird mutation was causing him to lose his mind, not that he'd been placed into a psychological test. Ultimately, it seems Wolfman only revised Megaton's origin as an excuse to get Rick Jones into a Kree base where he could find some new Nega-Bands. Even then, he has to invent new powers for Megaton to accomplish it, and Megaton's rationale for going there is half-baked too (he claims there's a device which will save him but it's unclear how he knew that and he loses all interest in checking if his powers really are killing himself the instant he brings Rick to the base).

Basically, Captain Marvel remains a series trying to find its footing, still not sure what it's about. Last issue Conway introduced the idea that Rick resents sharing his life with Mar-Vell and there's a little more of that in this issue. It's an attempt to give the series some classic Marvel angst, but boy, it makes Rick and Marv a lot less pleasant to spend time with. The best element of this two parter remains Lou-Ann Savannah, the most welcome love interest for Rick.

Next: We divert back to Avengers #106 for a Captain Marvel guest appearance!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 36: Captain Marvel #22

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero'! Last time I wrapped up the Kree-Skrull War and now it's back to Captain Marvel's own serires, which resumed a few months after Avengers #97 with issue #22, about two years after issue #21! The cover declared, "He's Back! The Hero Who Wouldn't Die!" to acknowledge he'd been off the stands for some time; this time around, Captain Marvel would manage to keep his book until 1979. The series left off with the creative team of Roy Thomas & Gil Kane; although Thomas remains an editor, it resumes wth "To Live Again!" under the team of Gerry Conway & Wayne Boring (inks by Frank Giacoia). Wayne Boring was best known as a Superman artist, but he also did a few Marvel Comics here and there.

Rick Jones is just leaving Avengers Mansion when he has a vision of Captain Mar-Vell, just like he had back before when they were bonded. Rick had thought Mar-Vell gave his life to save him at the end of the Kree-Skrull War, but, after a recap of that storyline, Mar-Vell convinces Rick they're bound together again. Rick resents Mar-Vell for taking so long to announce his presence: "Where've you been all these weeks? How do you think I've felt, knowing what you'd done?" Mar-Vell notes only Rick can save him from the Negative Zone, but initially Rick blows him off. After playing his guitar down in a New York subway station, Rick has a change of heart as he remembers Mar-Vell's willingness to sacrifice his life for him.

Rick heads to a cafe in Greenwich Village for a gig which Mordecai P. Boggs set up for him and Boggs introduces him to a lovely lady named Lou-Ann Savannah, the first real love interest Rick has had in this series (and if you're familiar with Jim Starlin's stories, you probably recall her). As they get to know each other, Lou-Ann thinks Rick's "tough-guy pose" is a little too like James Dean. This might the first and last time anyone calls Rick "tough guy". A trio of men try to mug them in the streets; Rick fends off two of them but the third presses a gun into Lou-Ann's stomach; she knocks the gun out of his hand and beats him down on her own. I like her already!

Meanwhile, a cadillac brings wealthy Raymond Osworth to a Bowery building where he finds his brother-in-law Jules hiding in a darkened room. Jules complains the room is too cold, yet Raymond thinks it's about 80 degrees warm. When Raymond lets in some light, he sees Jules' skin has become yellow and there are strange cracks running along his face. Outraged at Raymond for seeing his true appearance, Jules punches Raymond through the apartment door and tells him to keep himself and his sister Christine (Jules' wife) away from him.

A week goes by as Rick gets his career and new apartment established while continuing to romance Lou-Ann. Rick begins to feel pressure from being in control of his own life for a change and his growing anger causes his connection to Mar-Vell to flare up; all this time, Mar-Vell has been stuck in the Negative Zone, still connected to Rick and his power continuing to grow; Mar-Vell needs to get out of the Negative Zone or the energy build-up will kill both of them. Lou-Ann brings Rick to her uncle, who turns out to be Benjamin Savannah, a university scientist, whose photon-ray treatment causes Rick and Mar-Vell to change places once again. Lou-Ann is terrified by this and Mar-Vell, not explaining anything, simply flies out of the laboratory, leaving her alone.

Back in the Bowery, Jules has continued to change; his hair has fallen out and he's donned a colourful costume. Calling himself "Megaton, the Nuclear Man", his entire body is emitting dangerous radioactive energy. Mad with power, he shows off his abilities to the building's super. A few months earlier, Jules Carter had been on a research team in the Arctic when he was caught in the blast of an exploding atomic research base; the other scientists were killed, but Jules has survived. Megaton now ventures out of the Bowery and runs into Captain Marvel...

Thoughts: Although the creative team doesn't stick around for very long, this is a good enough return to the series. Lou-Ann is the first major addition to the supporting cast since Mordecai P. Boggs and she has the kind of steel which makes Gerry Conway a great writer of female supporting characters. Megaton's appearance is a bit too odd and (inevitably, with Boring on art) too DC-ish, but it is refreshing to have Captain Marvel set up to fight a new super-villain for the first time in... quite a while. Man, it's mostly been robots and mad scientists, hasn't it?

Next: Megaton goes off in Captain Marvel #23!

Space-Born Super Hero part 35: Avengers #97

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero' as I delve into the final chapter of the Kree-Skrull War storyline: Avengers #97 (1972) and the story "Godhood's End" by Roy Thomas and John Buscema (inks by Tom Palmer). We resume in the Negative Zone where Rick Jones is once again stranded and face-to-face with Annihilus. Annihilus recognizes him from before (Avengers #89) and closes in for the kill - but a ray of light shines out from Rick's forehead and drives Annihilus back. Rick has no idea what just happened.

Back in the Andromeda Galaxy, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch try to free Captain Marvel, but he's trapped within a sphere of negative energy by the Skrulls until the Omni-Wave Projector is complete. Princess Anelle is quite skeptical about her father's schemes and the many Skrulls who have died because of him, but Emperor Dorrek is so miffed he muses he'd kill her if only she weren't "the sole offspring of an emperor!" It was Mar-Vell's use of the Omni-Wave Projector to call the Avengers that cast Rick into the Negative Zone, but Mar-Vell now smashes the device; he explains to the Scarlet Witch that the Omni-Wave Projector is only a communication device, provided the user is Kree - it's only in the hands of a non-Kree brain that it becomes deadly.

Rick is being dragged towards the explosive center of the Negative Zone but by concentrating reopens the portal to the Supreme Intelligence and confronts the being, demanding answers. While the Supreme Intelligence talks around the problem, Ronan is spying on them and sends Kree soldiers to kill the Supreme Intelligence and Rick. The Supreme Intelligence tells Rick to focus again on the super heroes of his youth (as he did in Avengers #92) and as he does so, the heroes Captain America, Blazing Skull, the Fin, the Sub-Mariner, the Vision, the Angel and the Human Torch are brought to life to defend Rick. Although Rick calls Cap and Namor "real" the other heroes are dismissed here as mere comic book creations brought to life (but later Marvel Comics would establish all of them as having existed in the Marvel Universe's past).

As the heroes eventually fade, the Supreme Intelligence directs Rick to use his power in a different manner, immobilizing every member of the Kree and Skrull races, bringing the war to a sudden halt. The Avengers on the Skrull throneworld and those battling the Skrull armada witness the effects; likewise frozen in his tracks is H. Warren Craddock, who is exposed as a Skrull and then killed by an angry mob. Rick still doesn't understand how he has the power to do these things, but the Supreme Intelligence explains he's unleashed Rick's dormant potential. "For untold eons, Skrull and Kree hae stalked the cosmic corridors like twin races of malevolent gods--never knowing each of their star-spanning clans has reached--a dead end. Live a billion billion years, neither will ever advance one more rung up the ladder of evolution. Now, they can but snarl at each other across the sea of space, hating both each other--and the human race--which they subconsciously sense to be their ultimate superiors!"

These ideas are similar to those which we learned of in Captain Marvel #16. Rick falls unconscious from the strain placed upon him, but the Supreme Intelligence summons all of the affected heroes (Avengers and Captain Marvel) and tells the unfrozen Captain Marvel that he and Rick must once again be merged in order to save Rick's life. Mar-Vell doesn't want to share his life with another person again, but unwilling to see Rick die, agrees; once more, they are bound together by the Nega-Bands. The Supreme Intelligence now reclaims leadership over the Kree, declaring that it hopes "this time, to be more deserving of his name!" The Supreme Intelligence sends everyone back to Earth, where they're met by Nick Fury and the real H. Warren Craddock. They determine the Skrull who impersonated Craddock and inflamed the public against aliens was the missing fourth Skrull who hadn't become a cow way back in Fantastic Four #2. It's only then that the assembled heroes realize Goliath is missing.

Thoughts: A fair bit happens in this issue and not much of it has to do with the Avengers, who take a serious backseat to the affairs of the Skrulls & Kree. In fact, despite all the emphasis given to Vision's feelings for the Scarlet Witch in earlier issues, their reunion at the climax of the war is left unremarked upon.

It's a strange kind of ending to a story which seemed to be steadily escalating, with the fleets of starships only just being introduced in the previous issue, but considering the backdrop against which this story was set - the immensely unpopular Vietnam War - it makes sense that the solution to the war isn't found in punches or ray beams.

Poor Captain Marvel had precious little to do in this story - in issue #89 he fled from the Avengers like a criminal, then spent almost every issue afterward being confined by someone (first the Kree, then the Skrulls) and only in #96 finally began fighting back. All he gets to do in the finale is bond again with Rick Jones, but this time his reluctance at doing so shows off his emotional side. It's strange way to test the waters and see if people wanted more Captain Marvel stories - essentially shoving him in the background of the story instead of the foreground - but I guess it paid off because Captain Marvel got his comic back!

Next: Mar-Vell is back in his own book! Captain Marvel #22!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 34: Avengers #96

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero' which is now up to the penultimate chapter of the epic 'Kree-Skrull War'! Yep, it's Avengers #96 (1972): "The Andromeda Swarm!" by Roy Thomas & Neal Adams (inks by Tom Palmer). The Avengers (comprised of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Goliath and the Vision) head to the SHIELD space station to confer with Nick Fury, who notes he's disobeying direct orders from H. Warren Craddock by allying with them. "I figger I'm gettin' too old for this line'a work, anyhow," Nick philosophizes. Nick gifts the heroes with a spaceship they can use to retrieve their allies - it's powered by Mjolnir, enabling it to travel past the speed of light. As they are about to exit the Solar System, they discover a massive fleet of Skrull starships is gathering to invade! The Avengers' ship emits an illusion of duplicates of itself to try and frighten the Skrulls, but the Skrulls confer with Emperor Dorrek, who orders them to investigate. A single Skrull vessel streaks towards the Avengers' craft.

Captain America and Goliath get inside one-man shuttles for a fight, while Thor, Iron Man and Vision have no trouble engaging the Skrulls in space, with Thor destroying a missile the Skrulls launch at them. Thor and Vision then tear their way through the Skrull ship's hull; Cap and Iron Man follow them aboard while Goliath remains outside in his shuttle; now that he's completely out of growth serum, Goliath's power is somewhat restricted. The four Avengers storm to the ship's bridge, where the officer, Kalxor confronts them. Emperor Dorrek appears on Kalxor's viewscreen to taunt the Avengers, showing them Captain Mar-Vell is in the midst of building an Omni-Wave Projector for them (last time he built it in about a half hour; hmm...). As the Avengers don't know Mar-Vell very well, Iron Man suggests he never was their ally to begin with. However, the Mar-Vell labouring over the device turns out to be a hologram which Mar-Vell created using the Omni-Wave Projector; the device is complete, but Mar-Vell's not sharing it with the Skrulls and he moves to release the Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver from their cells.

So, Emperor Dorrek's attempt at taunting the Avengers has not gone as he foresaw. Kalxor tries to execute orders which Dorrek sends him, but Vision restrains Kalxor and begins threatening him. "Tell me of this contingency plan--and the location of Throneworld, as well." When Kalxor refuses to comply, Vision starts beating him. Iron Man tries to restrain his comrade: "Vision--stop! Your android strength--! You'll kill him! You don't know what you're doing!" Vision disagrees: "Another correction, Iron Man: My brain is a miniaturized, high-speed computer. I always know precisely what I am doing. I--am--killing--him!" Ultimately, Thor and Iron Man have to drag him away, but the bruised Kalxor gives up the information. The contingency plan is to fire a nuclear warhead at Earth so powerful it can destroy all life on the planet. The Avengers inform Goliath and he sends his shuttle to intercept the ship carrying the warhead; Goliath boards the ship, but without any powers, he's in a tough position.

Meanwhile in the Kree Galaxy (the planet Hala), we're finally checking in with Ronan the Accuser (who has strangely reverted to pink skin). Ronan is disappointed at his men for bringing Rick Jones to him as a prisoner, but then he recalls Rick was one of the people who destroyed his citadel on Earth. Rick heroically grabs a weapon from one of the guards and strikes Ronan in the face, but it does absolutely nothing; Ronan swats him aside. Rick mocks him: "Hey, that was pretty brave, Ronan-baby. Whatcha doin'--workin' your way up to beltin' women an' kids?" Ronan admits, "You possess--a certain rudimentary courage, whelp." Ronan decides to let Rick live and be his personal "body-slave" (that sounds gross). He takes Rick out to a balcony and shows him how highly advanced the Kree civilization is compared to Earth. Rick wonders if the Kree and Skrulls are both so advanced, why does Earth matter to either of them?

Ronan explains Earth simply lies midway between the Kree and Skrull empires; it's nothing personal - Earth is just a convenient port for their forces. Rick tries to escape Ronan's clutches, but Ronan strikes him with a bolt of energy from his Universal Weapon. Rick vows, "Some day--some way--I'm definitely gonna kill you, creep!" Ronan throws him into a room which turns out to be the immense theatre where the Supreme Intelligence rests; you'll recall he was deposed at the beginning of this storyline. This rates a "faaan-tastic!" from Rick. The Supreme Intelligence reveals he's been secretly manipulating a lot of the war through his mental powers, such as inflaming tensions against aliens on Earth and compelling the Kree in Attilan to take Rick prisoner. He was even responsible for guiding Rick out of the courtroom during the Avengers' hearing and concealing the Super-Skrull's true identity from Mar-Vell. The Supreme Intelligence then opens a portal to the Negative Zone and deposits Rick inside, placing him within striking distance of Annihilus! To be concluded!

Thoughts: We get one of the most memorable moments of the storyline when Vision loses his cool against Kalxor. It's also of note that the Avengers engage in some fierce combat against the Skrull ship - it's not clear if they took any casualties; I know some fans assume they did kill a few Skrulls, but surely there'd be some mention of that on panel, considering how shocked they are by Vision's behaviour.

Sending Rick back to the Negative Zone seems to bring him back to where he was at the start of this storyline and is, I suppose, the first sign that Rick and Mar-Vell will be returning to their previous status quo when this story is done.

Next: I wrap-up looking at the Kree-Skrull War with Avengers #97!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 33: Avengers #95

Hello and welcome to another entry in 'Space-Born Super Hero', which now up to Avengers #95 (1972) and the story "Something Inhuman This Way Comes...!" by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams (inks by Tom Palmer). The previous issue ended with the Avengers battling SHIELD Mandroids outside of their mansion when Triton emerged from the sewers. We now flash back a little to show Triton swimming to New York, commandeering a van, being shot by the police, fleeing into the sewers, and finally emerging in the middle of the firefight outside Avengers Mansion. H. Warren Craddock is watching the progress of the battle gleefully, while Nick Fury is rather glum about sending his agents to attack his friends. Suddenly, the Mandroids go inert as Iron Man thinks up a better plot than 'ram them using my roller-skates': he uses his power-pods (those devices on his armour's hips) to unleash all of their energy at the Mandroids and short out the armour. Thor wonders how he knew this work without hurting the SHIELD agents. "I knew, Thor! Isn't that enough?" This is before Tony began sharing his secret identity with any of his fellow Avengers.

Rick Jones notices the injured Triton and goes to help him; Triton was actually looking for the Fantastic Four, but Rick tells him the F.F. are out of town (huh? they were in town last issue). Triton quickly recaps the events of the Inhumans' stories as Maximus the Mad used his mental powers to seize control of Attilan while the rightful ruler Black Bolt has been lost in San Francisco, amnesiac. Thor encountered the Inhumans during that story and verifies what he can, but the Vision isn't interested. "I vote--no!" the android declares icily. He reminds the team about their present woes in the midst of the interstellar Kree-Skrull War and of Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel's capture (but mostly, we surmise, he's concerned about the Scarlet Witch's capture). Vision saw for himself how the Super-Skrull couldn't pierce the barrier around Attilan and observes, "Only a fool would attack it--when Thor's hammer could carry us just as easily to the stars." Goliath finds himself having to step in between Vision and Iron Man to prevent a fistfight and points out all of them want to help both groups, the Inhumans and the kidnapped heroes. Captain America asks the Vision to pick the division of teams to handle these separate problems; Vizh asks Cap, Rick and Goliath to go with Triton to San Francisco while he, Thor and Iron Man head to the Andromeda Galaxy. Just as Cap's team departs, the inert Mandroids are revived by remote control while the armours' operators remain unconscious.

In San Francisco, Black Bolt and his young friend Joey are about to be fired upon by a gang of criminals when Captain America comes to their rescue. Black Bolt's memory has returned and he's happily reunited with Triton, then (through sign language) urges Goliath, Rick and Cap's help in returning to Attilan. They even bring Joey for some reason; I guess Rick used to tag-along with the Avengers in his younger days, so it isn't too ridiculous. Anyway, while they travel Black Bolt remembers when he was younger and discovered Maximus was plotting an alliance with the Kree (with Ronan the Accuser, no less). Black Bolt used his sonic scream to destroy the Kree starship with Maximus' allies aboard, but it crashed upon Bolt & Maximus' parents, crushing them both to death.

Back at Avengers Mansion, Iron Man disables the Mandroids for good, while Vision has a change of heart; he now wants to help Triton. Thor uses Mjolnir to open a portal to the Great Refuge just outside of the barrier which surrounds Attilan (he doesn't explain why he didn't simply open the portal inside Attilan). Vision can't phase through the barrier and although Mjolnir can pass through, it simply circles around and back to Thor without creating an opening. The team from San Francisco arrives and Black Bolt utters one word; the barrier falls before his voice and Black Bolt is reunited with the Inhumans, drawn in that crazy style which is signature Neal Adams.

The Inhumans are under Maximus' control and forced to attack the heroes while Maximus has resumed his alliance with the Kree, promising to aid them in the war with the Skrulls. As the heroes fight Maximus and his allies, Rick is snatched aboard a Kree vessel which departs immediately for the Kree Galaxy. Maximus is otherwise easily beaten and Black Bolt regains his throne. Elsewhere, we see the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver & Captain Marvel: prisoners of the Skrulls! We see the Supreme Intelligence stating obliquely: "The players are all in place. Let the final phase begin!" And finally Captain America declares "We're coming for you--Kree and Skrulls alike! And nothing can stay our hand from vengeance--nothing but death!"

Thoughts: Although Thomas & Adams were primarily concerned with tying up loose ends from their Inhumans story (to the benefit of both of the Inhumans' fans), the Inhumans did, at least, have a natural link to the Kree and by making Maximus a Kree ally the story isn't as much of a diversion as it could have been. The Vision's rising temper about their situation is also a good touch, as he rightfully--but, very heatedly in an unusual fashion for his character--points out the team is already in the middle of a conflict with enormous stakes and their friends' lives on the line.

Next: The Avengers take the fight to their enemies in Avengers #96!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 32: Avengers #94

Welcome to another entry in my blogging series 'Space-Born Super Hero' as I work my way through Captain Marvel's career prior to the arrival of creator Jim Starlin. Today I'm up to Avengers #94 (1971), another entry in the ongoing 'Kree-Skrull War' saga with the story "More Than Inhuman!" by Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and John Buscema (inks by Tom Palmer). The Avengers have just defeated three Skrulls at a farmhouse in upstate New York. The team calls up Mister Fantastic to let him know about the Skrulls and ask if he can come up with a way to track the Skrull starship which escaped with the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Captain Marvel aboard. Unknown to the team, the Vision phased inside the ship before it escaped and he's now spying on the heroes' captor, the Super-Skrull. The Skrull ship isn't headed for outer space, though - it's headed to Attilan, the home of the Inhumans! The Super-Skrull is about to launch a weapon to destroy Attilan when the Vision emerges from hiding and fights him. Unable to best the Vision, the Super-Skrull simply turns invisible and throws the lever on his weapon!

The ship emits a massively destructive explosion, but none of it pierces the defensive shield which surrounds Attilan's Great Refuge. The Super-Skrull is infuriated at the survival of the "Kree-spawn" (as noted back in Avengers#90, the Inhumans were engineered by the Kree) and it seems his only reason for the assault was that he considered them Kree-by-proxy. Vision considers continuing the fight against the Super-Skrull, but he worries that the Scarlet Witch could be killed in the clash, so he phases out of the ship and departs as the Super-Skrull sets his course for the Skrull Galaxy; at least now Vision can tell the other Avengers what he's learned.

As the Super-Skrull's ship uses a space-time warp to return to the Andromeda Galaxy, Mar-Vell ponders the situation from where he's been confined. He knows the Skrull will want to interrogate him for Kree strategic information and wonders what decision he would make if the Skrulls forced him to choose between the Kree and Earth; realizing he doesn't know the answer, he begins to think the humans were right to question his motives. The Super-Skrull's ship is met by heavy fire - not because of the Kree, but because the Super-Skrull is in exile and Emperor Dorrek has no reason to want him back. The only inch Emperor Dorrek is willing to grant the Super-Skrull is that he "pierced the nega-shield which the Kree have placed" around Earth. This is the first we've heard of this shield. Anyway, Dorrek contains the Super-Skrull inside an energy sphere. When the Super-Skrull attempts to blast his way out using the Human Torch's nova flame, he burns up his oxygen supply and falls unconscious; what a dope.

Dorrek is all too happy to accept the prisoners from the Super-Skrull's ship and transfers Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel to his own prisons. When Dorrek notes Mar-Vell became a rebel for opposing Ronan, his daughter Anelle remarks, "If he hates Ronan, he must be a good man indeed." Anelle asks her father to release the trio, but Dorrek wants the secret of the omni-wave projector from Mar-Vell; Mar-Vell notes the Super-Skrull already tried and failed to accomplish that goal. Dorrek notes he can't "abuse" Mar-Vell because of the "Convention of Fornax" (I believe this is the first mention of Fornax, which is later established as a major galaxy in the Marvel Universe), so he'll simply torture Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch until Mar-Vell gives in. The siblings are placed in a confined room with a massive reptillian creature and a number of small, pink, fuzzy creatures. The green monster seems like the greater threat, so Quicksilver runs about to generate a cyclone, but the force of his movement causes the pink creatures - Druffs - to be flung everywhere and each time one of them strikes something hard, they duplicate themselves. Before you can say 'Tribble', the Druffs become so numerous that they threaten to smother the two heroes to death.

Mar-Vell can't bear to see Wanda and Pietro suffer such a horrible (albeit goofy) death, so he relents, noting those two had already saved his life once. Dorrek releases the Avengers from the cell and informs Mar-Vell if he doesn't turn over the secret of the omni-wave projector, the two Avengers will die.

We cut back to Earth as H. Warren Craddock is continuing his search for aliens in the midst, subjecting government employees to an alien-detection device; he starts by subjecting the research scientists who testified at the Avengers' hearing (Avengers #92); the scientists now regret having gone to Craddock with their information. After this, Nick Fury sends a coded message to the Avengers, suggesting they might want to get out of town. The team is rejoined by the Vision, who begins to explain what's happened when Craddock's forces appear outside Avengers Mansion and demand the heroes exit. Craddock has brought tanks and helicopters, as he didn't expect the heroes to come willingly: inside the helicopters are the Mandroids, three SHIELD agents wearing powerful suits of battle armor built by Tony Stark (a footnote informs readers they're not connected to the Mandroid from Captain Marvel#18, which you'll recall was also written by Roy Thomas).

Goliath is down to his last dose of growth serum but uses it to attack a Mandroid, only to get an electrical shock from him. The armor can also generate an anti-magnetic field to ward off Captain America's shield. However, these guys were trained by Tony Stark, so Iron Man has an obvious advantage, and that is... they don't know about his armor's roller skates!

... No, seriously, that's what he thinks his advantage is. He rolls himself at two of the Mandroids to bwol them over but the third fires a blast which makes Iron Man go tumbling head over heel. The Invincible Iron Man, ladies and gentlemen. Suddenly, Triton crawls out from the sewers below and-- the story is to be continued!

Thoughts: I've always enjoyed the Kree-Skrull dynamic which Roy Thomas first hinted at way back in Captain Marvel #2 and it is neat to see the scenes where Dorrek and Anelle comment about the Kree. As both races are villains in the Marvel Universe, it's intriuging to see what they think about each other.

Roy Thomas, Neal Adams and Tom Palmer had previously been the Inhumans' creative team over in Amazing Adventures, so they use the Kree-Skrull War as a means of wrapping up the series. This begins what will become a recurring tradition of audiences rejecting the Inhumans but Marvel creators forcing them into a more popular series anyway. It's the circle of life.

Next: The Kree-Skrull War (and those pesky Inhumans) continues into Avengers #95!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 31: Avengers #93

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero', which is currently knee-deep in the Kree-Skrull War epic! Today I'm up to Avengers #93 (1971) and the story "This Beachhead Earth". Once again the writer is Roy Thomas but he's now joined by the superbly dynamic Neal Adams (with inks by Neal Adams). I love Sal Buscema's artwork a lot, but Adams brings in a new vitality. We open at Avengers Mansion where Captain America, Iron Man and Thor are surprised by the Vision, who staggers into the room and collapses. Although the 'Big Three' aren't sure whether he's dead or alive, they're joined by Ant-Man, who offers his scientific expertise. You might recall that in issue #90, Hank Pym said he was retiring as Yellowjacket -- apparently he meant he was just retiring that identity, for here he is, back in his original costumed identity. Although Pym doesn't know too much about the Vision, he observes he did create Ultron and Ultron then created the Vision, so he has a decent shot at figuring out Vizh's problem.

Ant-Man crawls down the Vision's throat with his ants and begins his exploration. Pym discovers Vision's body has defensive measures similar to those found in a human body. Pym doesn't miss an opportunity to compare the experience to that of the film Fantastic Voyage ("Only thing missing so far is an assistant who's built like Raquel Welch"). Pym has suddenly become very well-versed in pop culture, remarking "What it looks like is a left-over movie set from Metropolis. Fritz Lang's, not Clark Kent's! Just the place for an old E.C. Fan-Addict like me!" In fact, the weird landscape of the Vision's interiors does look like something Wally Wood might have conjured up for Weird Science. Pym also finds tiny spheres which cause him to phase when they touch him, as they transmit Vision's density-altering powers. Ant-Man cleverly uses the bubbles to help him evade another of the body's defense systems and activates a plexiglass seal around his helmet to supply himself with air as his voyage continues (a new addition to Ant-Man's outfit).

Ant-Man reactivates the Vision's brain and sees something which gives himself momentary pause, but has to exit Vision's body before he can explore it further. It's an extremely disguised clue, but the first of many references which will lead to the Vision being established as the recreated original Human Torch. As the Vision awakens, Ant-Man takes his leave of the team. Vision still feels hurt by the 'Big Three' for disbanding the Avengers, but the trio are puzzled; they came to Avengers Mansion because Tony Stark received a letter from Jarvis mentioning the team's disbansion. Thus, the three men who disbanded the Avengers last issue weren't the real Captain America, Thor and Iron Man. Hm.

Vision explains how he, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Goliath left town in an ordinary car to seek out the farm upstate where Carol Danvers had brought Captain Marvel. While Goliath simply steps over the perimeter fence, Vision offers to help the Scarlet Witch over, which upsets Pietro, increasing the growing tension between them. Vision flies over the fence alone, when suddenly something strikes him and he falls into the pasture, next to three cows. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch investigate and discover the three cows are shapeshifters who assume the appearances of Mister Fantastic, the Thing and the Human Torch! Vision phases below ground while the other two Avengers are taken prisoner by the shapeshifters. Eventually, Vision hovered back to Avengers Mansion. As Vision finishes his story, the other Avengers agree to help their teammates.

Inside the farmhouse, Captain Marvel is being held prisoner by the Skrulls, who were (of course) the three cows. Strangely, they're dressed in red & blue instead of the typical Skrullian purple & blue. Carol has also been placed in restraints, but they forgot to capture Goliath (how on Earth do you overlook Goliath, of all the Avengers?). Goliath has met up with Rick Jones by now and the two are attacked by the three Skrulls, again as three of the Fantastic Four. The Skrulls recount how they were beaten by the Fantastic Four way back in Fantastic Four #2 (the first appearance of the Skrulls) and the three of them were hypnotized to assume the forms of cows: "Until a Skrull hyperbeam from space revived us". Left unattended, Mar-Vell is able to activate his Uni-Beam and break out of his restraints, then releases Carol Danvers. Recalling the news that his people are at war with the Skrulls, Mar-Vell (due to some prompting from Carol) resolves he should warn the Kree of the Skrull presence on Earth. He quickly begins assembling an omni-wave projector: "That alone can send out an instantaneous message to the Kree Galaxy--across the void of hyper-space!"

The other Avengers arrive to battle the three Skrulls, but just as Mar-Vell is about to use the Omni-Wave Projector he stops, having realized it could also be used as a weapon and that the reason Carol has been guiding him to build it is because she's not 'Carol' at all-- she's the Super-Skrull! Mar-Vell hasn't seen him since way back in Captain Marvel#3! The Super-Skrull knocks Mar-Vell unconscious and reveals he's still got Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch in his hands and the three heroes are what he's been after all along. The Super-Skrull's spaceship was hidden inside the barn all along and he activates the ship to return to the Skrull Galaxy (abandoning his three comrades). Goliath tries to grab the ship and stop it, but runs out of his size-changing ability just at that moment; the Skrull ship escapes and the Avengers are left dejected at having lost three of their allies to the Skrulls, and by Goliath's sudden power loss. And they still don't know what the Skrulls are after...

Thoughts: We're five chapters in to the Kree-Skrull War and it's getting more and more interesting by bringing in the Skrulls on Earth to increase the paranoia the heroes are experiencing. With Goliath's powers gone and the Vision angsting over Wanda, the regular cast are at a pretty intense moment, so the return of Thor, Iron Man & Captain America to the book helps ground the team.

The Omni-Wave Projector figures in a few more Kree stories over the years; considering how powerful it is, you'd think it would be an even bigger deal in Kree lore, especially considering how easily Mar-Vell builds one from inside the Skrull ship.

Next: The Kree-Skrull War heats up in Avengers #94!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 30: Avengers #92

'Space-Born Super Hero' continues as I look at Avengers #92 (1971), a continuation of the Kree-Skrull War with the story "All Things Must End" by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema (inks by George Roussos). First, a word about the cover: it depicts Captain America, Iron Man and Thor standing in judgment over the present team of Avengers. It was around this time that Captain America, Iron Man and Thor began acquiring their reputation as the 'Big Three', as they were the Avengers with their own titles and they tended to show in the book when a big event went down. Fandom began to ascribe this 'Big Three' status to them as some kind of half-remembered hazy vision of the Avengers' golden age and in due time, fans would judge the 'worthiness' of an Avengers team on the basis of how many 'Big Three' were present. The truth is, the 'Big Three' never really had a dynamic in the 60s and didn't truly develop one until the late 70s.

We pick up at Avengers Mansion where the Avengers are enjoying some downtime, when Jarvis rushes in to show the team a newspaper headline: 'Alien Plot to Conquer Earth Disclosed!' It seems the research scientists whom the Avengers saved from the Kree (last issue) blabbed everything to the press. Turning on the television they see the President has appointed H. Warren Craddock as head of the new 'Alien Activities Commission', granting him emergency powers to deal with the supposed alien crisis. Craddock says he has a list of "153 'model citizens' who are actually alien spies." If any of this reminds you of the infamous House of Un-American Activities, then congratulations, you're paying attention. Captain Marvel and Rick Jones are still staying with the Avengers and Mar-Vell considers turning himself over to the authorities, lest he taint the Avengers by association. At first the Avengers leap to Mar-Vell's defense, but Goliath thinks the idea has some merit. "Then everybody'll calm down," Goliath assumes. Vision points out this could be start of a slippery slope: "If first a man of the Kree can be confined for no reason, then detainment of androids will follow--next of mutants--then giants..." It seems like a stretch to say it will follow, but Vizh has a point. Still, Mar-Vell worries about what's going on with his people as they fight the Skrulls.

Meanwhile, a helicopter vehicle brings Carol Danvers to New York. As the Avengers are looking at the mob which has formed outside the mansion demanding 'Give us Captain Marvel!' (well maybe you should have bought his comic when that was an option) Just then, Carol's helicopter draws near, when it suddenly plummets from the sky. Captain Marvel hears her send a radio distress call to the mansion and quickly flies to her rescue. Or, he tries to; Mar-Vell tries to catch the vehicle and slow its descent but he's not very good at it so Vision joins him and absorbs most of the impact (poor Vizh). The Avengers recognize Carol (they met her in issue #90) but Wanda is concerned for the Vision and the damage he took. The Vision tries to dissuade her, telling her not to concern herself about him. This upsets Wanda, but Vision dismisses her as being "too emotional". The romantic tension continues! Pietro takes offense to Vision's tone, thinking he's being insulting to Wanda. Poor Pietro -- eventually he'll figure out what's really going on and then he'll be unhappy.

Scanning the skies, the Avengers see a squad of SHIELD jet planes patrolling overhead, with Nick Fury & Dum Dum Dugan among the crew. The Avengers realize they've been placed under surveillance. Taking Carol inside the mansion, they ask her if she's part of the surveillance but she tells them she's taken a leave of absence from the Cape and wants to aid Mar-Vell in return for saving her life more than once; her suggestion: Mar-Vell could hide at her family farm upstate. Well, running and hiding isn't Mar-Vell's choice as he hasn't even had a chance to defend himself from accusations, but Vision agrees with the plan and encourages them to depart; Carol and Mar-Vell borrow a Quinjet and quickly outpace the SHIELD agents. And who's watching the watchers? It seems Fury is being observed by Craddock and he accuses Fury of letting Mar-Vell escape, but Fury notes Mar-Vell still hasn't been charged with a crime. Just after switching off his video link to Craddock, Fury confides to Dugan that, having memories of the Japanese concentration camps during World War II, he's not particularly avid about obeying these orders.

Goliath notes that by aiding Captain Marvel in his escape the Avengers have broken their record of cooperating with the law. Rick suddenly finds himself thinking about old comic books and sees images of various old super heroes from the 1940s (some of Roy Thomas' favourites), and several of them aren't even Marvel characters (like the Heap). It comes out of absolutely nowhere, but this is a pivotal detail in the finale. Goliath spies a man being bullied outside the mansion for standing up for the Avengers. Goliath storms out to save the man, but it's a trap: the man being bullied delivers a summons to the Avengers. Seeing no other course, the Avengers (and Rick!) head to the city courthouse, where they find the Fantastic Four have also been summoned due to their own experiences with the Kree. Under Craddock's directions, the research scientists testify about how Ronan transformed them into cavemen; Mister Fantastic explains what he knows about the Kree's history and of Sentry#459. The Thing is no help as he claims he doesn't recognize Goliath, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Vision as the real Avengers; Ben is the original revisionist Avengers fan! Ben also clucks his tongue at the team for letting Captain Marvel depart.

The Vision is the first Avenger to take the stand but after admitting he's an android, Craddock tells him to stand down, declaring that "a robot could only parrot what others tell it to say." Vision is outraged by this but quietly sits down, cautioning Craddock to end this "trial by accusation". Rick begins to recall a dream he had of Mar-Vell following Carol out to her farm house, but being attacked by something with tentacles. Perhaps he and Mar-Vell still have a psychic link? Rick tears out of the courthouse, determined to help Mar-Vell. The disruption caused by Rick's exit convinces Craddock to end the hearings for the day. Returning to the mansion, the Avengers find the place has been ransacked by the mob outside. To make matters worse, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor have popped up to wag their fingers. "We feel you acted irresponsibly in shielding Captain Marvel from investigation. Thus, by authority of our by-laws, we three hereby declare the Avengers disbanded--for all time." Iron Man concurs: "Better no Avengers than those who have disgraced the name." Disheartened, the Avengers depart, leaving Jarvis to clean up.

Thoughts: One of the most compelling elements of the Kree-Skrull War is that it depicts how the conflict is viewed from the outside by the men and women who live in the Marvel Universe. This becomes a sort of recurring element in various Marvel epics to come; not that there's anything sexy about super heroes talking about laws and regulations, but it does make for quality drama and can provoke the characters to put into words a rousing defense of why they do what they do. I mean, unless the writer wanted the bureaucrats to be proved right. Fat chance that would ever happen!

Captain Marvel's story diverges somewhat from the Avengers here, but it will continue as a subplot as the series continues.

Next: The Kree-Skrull War continues in Avengers #93!