The cover is really cool. It basically shows Triathlon front and center, shoving his way through the Avengers. It shows a bit of Triathlon's personality. You get the impression he's a bit cocky, a bit overconfident. It's a great cover.
"Turbulence!"
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciler: George Perez
Inker: Al Vey
Colorist: Tom Smith
Letterers: Richard Starkings, Comicraft, Dave Lanphear
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras
The story begins with Edwin Jarvis, the Avengers' faithful and loyal butler, heading out to JFK International Airport. He had asked for the day off, which was a rare thing for him. However, he does have a reason. You see, he's been sponsoring a young girl from Costa Verde, a fictional country in South America. Her name? Maria de Guadalupe Santiago.
Ain't she cute? Well, he's waiting for her to arrive, when a part of the plane seemingly explodes. A group of armored people emerge from the wreckage. And they're not after refunds.
They fire into the airport, causing people to flee and duck for cover. Jarvis himself ducks behind a pillar, noticing that the armored figures are firing high, as if their intention isn't to shoot anyone, but to cause confusion. He tries to get his Avengers communicard to call in Earth's Mightiest to help. However, an explosion causes him to drop the card. It's then that it's revealed that these men and women have a leader.
Meet Silverclaw. This is her first appearance, too. Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion, Angelica "Firestar" Jones had gotten a new costume as a gift from the Wasp. She's not too happy with it.
I love Vance "Justice" Astrovik's face in that panel. Much like Firestar, Vance also got a new suit. Angelica hates the low cut of her new costume, fearing it'll cause a wardrobe malfunction. However, it's not just the costume that bothers her. In the last issue, Angelica had to use a great amount of her power to fuel a stargate. The thing is, her powers can endanger her health. Her body never completely developed the natural immunity to her powers that many mutants have. As such, if she pushes her powers too hard, she could damage her health, even render herself sterile. She kicks Vance out of the room so she can fix the costume in privacy. Vance decides against talking to her about moving into the Mansion at the moment.
Captain America is busy training. He got himself a new shield made of energy, as a replacement for an old shield that he used...that got crushed in Captain America #8 (August 1998). He wants to get in as much practice as he can with this thing. Thor comes in, and tells Cap that he won't be as available as he regularly was. Thanks to the events of Thor #1-3 (July-September 1998), he's got a new human identity, and he has to concentrate on establishing it for a while. Cap wishes him luck, and not to worry. The Avengers can go without him for a while.
In her room, Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, tries to get in contact with Carol Danvers, aka Warbird. She had recently left the team in a huff (Carol was dealing with a drinking problem, but wouldn't tell anyone about it), and Wanda wants to help. However, her thoughts are interrupted by an angry Hawkeye, who has a magazine with the Thunderbolts on the cover. He's furious about them, as he feels they are still crooks posing as heroes. Wanda defends them by pointing out the events of Thunderbolts #12 (March 1998), where they stopped Baron Zemo from taking over the world. Hawkeye reminds her that they started out as criminals too, but they weren't truly bad people. He fears that the Thunderbolts will make it harder for people to reform, and the Avengers need to kick their butts.
The Scarlet Witch then notices the Vision, who points out that she has a new costume.
Wanda wanted a new outfit to reflecting her Roma roots in a way. It's one of my favorite Scarlet Witch costumes. Wanda goes back to her thoughts. She's been going through some craziness lately. Vision's injuries, Hawkeye's frustrations with his place on the team, her own powers changing...and lately, she's found that she can summon her ex, Wonder Man, from the dead. It's a bit of ironic. Wanda's powers reflect chaos, and she's now surrounded by it. However, her thoughts have to be put aside for now. Jarvis found his communicard, and he needs help.
The Avengers arrive at JFK International. Thor arrives as Jake Olson, his new human identity. He's a paramedic, which is a nice bit of serendipity. However, the armored men are prepared. They trap Earth's Mightiest in an energy cage. So, who is behind this attack?
Meet Moses Magnum, Ethiopian weapons dealer and clear lover of disco. He's contacting the Avengers by hologram because he's not allowed on US soil. He's making videos for his online weapons catalog, and his Magnum Force's victory over the Avengers will make a great testimony for the effectiveness of his weapons. After all, if they can take down Earth's Mightiest Heroes, they could take on anyone...
But there is always a fly in the ointment in things like this. And said fly in this ointment ambushes Magnum's armored soldiers (His Magnum Shells. Get it?), and wrecks them, freeing Earth's Mightiest. Who is this new hero?
Triathlon's first appearance, everybody! With that, the Avengers join the fight, and take care of the Magnum Shells. Captain America gets ambushed by Silverclaw, who has turned into a catwoman. However, Cap trained with Tigra, and can handle catwomen. So she reveals a new trick: She can turn into other animals. She turned into a cockatoo to fly over the Living Legend, then into an anaconda to crush Cap like he was an aluminum can.
Silverclaw's power is rather odd. Think Vixen from the DC Universe, but she can only call upon the powers of animals that live in jungles and rainforests. The rest of the Avengers aren't doing so well. The Magnum Force got a chance to rally, and got some countermeasures to take down our heroes.
Cap tries to get Wanda to summon Wonder Man, but she refuses. She has felt reserved and uncomfortable about this for a while now, but Simon Williams is also a man. He's not a weapon. However, Triathlon comes to the rescue, saving Cap with a Mighty Punch to the snake-like Silverclaw. The former Olympian explains that Magnum's crew is here to steal an experimental seismic cannon. It makes sense, as Magnum has been involved with earthquake-themed threats in the past. One of the Force got the cannon, and is preparing to give the Avengers the business end of it, but some backup arrives.
Yup! Thor and Iron Man arrive, and the battle's tide is turned. However, the Magnum Force have planned for this. They figure, "Hey, the Avengers are superheroes. They'll always prioritize saving lives. Let's use that." One of the Force fires the cannon at the airport building, forcing the Avengers to try and prevent the place from coming down. The Magnum Force take advantage of the distraction and flee, but Triathlon is able to stow away on the plane they use as their getaway vehicle.
A short time later, the Avengers are able to temporarily repair the building. Hawkeye finds Silverclaw, who begs Captain America for forgiveness for her actions earlier. She explains that the Magnum Force forced her to help them or they'd kill the passengers of the plane she was on. They used her to distract from the theft of the seismic cannon. This leads Cap to another question: Why was she on the plane in the first place?
A panicked Jarvis pleads to a desk worker about the location of Maria, the little girl he's sponsoring. She was on the passenger manifest, but she wasn't one of the passengers who disembarked. Captain America asks how old his photo of her is. He then realizes that the photo is over a decade old. As such...
Silverclaw was the little girl Jarvis had been sponsoring. The crying superhuman grabs Jarvis in a big hug and sobs apologetically into his shoulder. Hawkeye remarks that Jarvis should take more days off, as this day wasn't a dull one. That night, Silverclaw is patching Jarvis up, while the Avengers do some research on Moses Magnum.
Justice is feeling down about himself, but Thor assures him tat he did his best, and there's no shame in that. Hawkeye wants Vision to find out everything he can about Triathlon. A miserable Wanda has headed up to her quarters, and Cap says he'll talk to her. He feels this was his fault. They haven't been able to figure out why she's able to summon Wonder Man from the dead, and he should have considered that it would have an effect on her emotionally.
Upstairs, Wanda is doing some more thinking about her life. She's never felt she's belonged in the Avengers, as she felt she was there thanks to connections with other members: Her brother Pietro, her relationship with Vision, her friendships with Clint, Carol, and Jan. Wonder Man appears in her room. She wonders how he appeared. He simply says...she needed him right now. The two end up sharing a kiss. The story ends with this observed by the Vision.
This issue is really good. The whole Vision/Scarlet Witch/Wonder Man triangle is definitely one of the weirdest in all of comics, and it's really cool to see that explored here. These are a group of people that know and have fought together a lot, but this issue can show that personal lives can affect even a group as supposedly tight as the Avengers. I also liked the reveal of Jarvis sponsoring a child. It's a nice little touch, showing the Avengers' ever-faithful butler does have a life outside of vacuuming Avengers Mansion and making sure Thor has his mutton.
Another thing I like is the bits of character throughout the book. Wanda's reluctance to summon Simon, Justice's struggles with measuring up, Firestar's fears about her powers affecting her health. George Perez's art really helps with this. The character acting, the facial expressions. It's fantastic stuff. Also, Justice's reaction to Firestar's new costume is hilarious.
And of course, Moses Magnum. I love it when lesser-known villains are given spotlight, and Moses Magnum is one. I also think he's a pretty neat villain, a superpowered arms dealer. Seriously, this guy should be in the MCU. Maybe he can be in Agents of SHIELD.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2010 trade paperback Avengers Assemble Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed reading it, please spread it around! And if you want to give it some additional support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar! Next time, I continue my tribute to George Perez, as we reunite with the New Teen Titans to celebrate the wedding of Donna Troy...
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