Steeltown Rockers #1 (April 1990)

If you know anything about me, you know that I'm a comic book fan. I especially like reading comics that feature lesser-known and obscure characters. I am the nerd that when everyone talks about Captain America or Wolverine, I can tell you about Omega the Unknown or the Wolfpack. I am also a fan of rock music. So, I thought it would be neat for the last comic review of 2021 to showcase an obscure Marvel comic about a rock band. As such, let me tell you about the beginnings of a band from a depressed steel mill town. Let's look at Steeltown Rockers #1!

The cover is an Alex Jay piece, depicting two of the Rockers playing their instruments on some train tracks. It gives me the feeling of a movie poster, especially with the cover having the tagline "Sometimes a small town band has to play a little louder to be heard." 

"Held for Ransom"
Writer: Elaine Lee
Penciler: Steve Leialoha
Inker:
Colorist: Michael Higgins
Letterer: L. Lois Buhalis
Editors: Bobbie Chase, Larry Hama (credited as "consulting editor")
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with seems like a young man named Johnny D playing for an adoring crowd.

The lights are bright, the crowd is cheering, and girls want to throw themselves at the young rock 'n' roller. It seems Johnny D is on top of the world!

However, the reality is...not quite so great. Giovanni Degeastano is knocked back to reality by his mother wanting some scissors. He's been rocking out, fantasizing about one day being able to entertain millions on the stage. She grumbles about his always having his headphones on, saying he wouldn't notice the house being on fire with them on. He jokes he'd smell the smoke and gets a smack for his trouble.

She tells him to get his father, as dinner is ready. Johnny comes down to get him, and finds his father zoned out in front of the TV, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. Like father, like son. Johnny's sister Gina asks his help for something. Her baby needs foot braces to straighten his legs, and the house's mortgage payment is due soon. The family doesn't have much in the way of money, so he's hoping Johnny would help out by maybe putting more of his own paycheck in. 

Johnny points out that their father hasn't bothered to look for work since the week after the steel mill closed. It's implied the mill closed down quite some time ago, and Mr. D has been vegging out in front of the TV since. Gina reminds him family helps each other out, but Johnny's still making some payments on his beloved guitar. Gina brings up their presumed brother George, but Johnny reminds her that George is dead...and he's out of here.

As he leaves, Gina yells a girl named Ellen Murphy is coming over. Johnny isn't interested in Gina's attempts to fix him up with a nice Catholic girl. He's going out for a drive. As he drives around town (I recommend playing "Drive" by the Cars for this part), he laments how things have gone so badly. There's no future in this steel town anymore. He starts singing a little song he came up with about the little Steeltown he grew up in. He heads to the music store and plays some "Starway to Heaven", only to get a surprise.

Page 11, Panel 4

I think this is a nod to Wayne's World, but this predated those movies. Johnny is here to see a guy named Tony, only to find somebody playing the guitar he dreams of owning.

Page 13, Panel 1

The owner tells the kid, Mike Johnson, to leave. Johnny really wants this guitar. He's even willing to trade in his old Tokai for it, but the owner can't do it. Business ain't been booming around here, lately. Johnny then meets up with Mike, who wants to hear him play. They drive off together, Mike giving Johnny some critique about his lyrics and his playing. You see, Mike thinks that Johnny has some real talent, but he shouldn't try so hard to imitate Bruce Springsteen. Johnny argues that he's just writing and signing about his life.

They head to Mike's house, where they meet his brother Eduardo "Eddie" Edwards, who is getting ready for a date. The Johnson brothers and Johnny jam together for a few hours. Eddie is impressed with Johnny's guitar skill, but he has a date...and he forgot it. Whoops.

The three youths part ways as friends, talking forming a band. Johnny's all for it, but he wants to head to California. He thinks there's a future there, unlike in this little Steeltown. He goes back to his car, only to discover that his tape deck's been stolen...with his demo tape.

Johnny heads home, where he finds his dad asleep, still in his chair, drink in his hand, and the TV going. The next morning, he heads out for his job at the pizza place. While making a delivery, he hears the sound of a saxophone playing. 

Page 29, Panel 5

He discovers that the player is a girl named Sadie Rae Spivey, but she likes to go by "Syd". He then gets his bike stolen and sees a dog eating the pizza he was delivering. You can tell that Johnny is a young protagonist in the Marvel Universe, as he has that Peter Parker luck, ha ha. Syd rides with Johnny on her bike to the bus station, where he cashes in his ticket to California. He has a stop to make at the music store, and he wants to introduce Syd to the band he's helping form: The Steeltown Rockers. The story ends with Syd thinking the name stinks.

I enjoyed this first issue. It felt very different from what Marvel was usually putting out at the time. Young people struggling with real life problems was nothing new for Marvel. Heck, their most iconic superhero had that as his gimmick. 

But this wasn't a bunch of superpowered young people struggling in a world of superheroes, gods, monsters, and the like. It is the story of a young man who wanted to escape what he thought was a dead-end town with no future. It does feel identifiable. We've all felt trapped at times, and it can be understood why Johnny Degaestano wants out. 

Steve Leialoha's art is...interesting. I think he's trying to bring some "grit" into the art, but the faces seem a bit...cartoony at times in this comic. 

I do want to point out that interestingly enough, "Steeltown" is an actual nickname for a city: Hamilton, Ontario. Naturally, it had a history with steel mills. But the "Steeltown" in this story is clearly meant to be, according to the solicit for this issue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Makes sense. Pennsylvania is associated with steel mills. 

This comic has never been reprinted in trade as far as I know, so you'll have to scour back issues for this one. I got the miniseries for Christmas. 

Hawkeye #1 (September 1983)

With the Christmas season here, I thought it would be nice to give the gift of another comic review. I was wondering what to look at, until I watched the Hawkeye miniseries on Disney+. Since it was basically an MCU Christmas special, I thought...why not talk about a comic focusing on the Avenging Archer for the week of Christmas? Well, that and my lack of Christmas-themed comics.

Hawkeye, like many of Marvel's most famous superheroes, has a long history. Clinton Francis Barton first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964). He started out as an antagonist of Iron Man's, but eventually became a full-on hero, joining the Avengers. He would have a long history with the group, even eventually becoming leader of the Avengers' West Coast offshoot. 

He's also had his fair share of solo spotlight. The comic we're looking at here is the first issue of his first miniseries from 1983. He would go on to have several more miniseries after this, and even a couple of attempts at ongoing series. With that out of the way, let's look at Hawkeye #1!

The cover is a Mark Gruenwald and Brett Breeding piece. Yes, you heard that right. Mark Gruenwald was more known as a writer, but he did do fill-in pencil work back in the early 80s on various titles. It's a good cover, if a bit basic. It depicts our man Clint on a factory tower (I think), ready to fire an arrow.

"Listen to the Mockingbird"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Mark Gruenwald
Inker: Brett Breeding
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Denny O'Neil
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with Hawkeye having a bit of fun with a brand-new toy of his at his place of employment at the time, Cross Technological Enterprises.

Page 2, Panel 3

Introducing Hawkeye's Sky-Cycle. This little vehicle would be associated with the character, with him using these vehicles in his later time with the West Coast Avengers. The Avenging Archer spots three men skulking around the area and uses three arrows to dispatch them all at once: A bola arrow, a net arrow, and a glue arrow.

It turns out these three men were CTE men, helping Clint test out his new vehicle. One of the men is the vehicle's designer, Jorge Latham. Barton is happy with Latham's work on the Sky-Cycle. One of the men asks why Hawkeye uses a bow and arrow when a gun would easier and deadlier. Well, as it's shown, a bow is quieter, and in Clint's hand is much more versatile. One of the men tries to pull back the string on Clint's bow but finds he can't do it. A bit of foreshadowing...

It's here that a lady named Sheila Danning enters the scene.

Page 5, Panel 8

Danning is CTE's Public Relations director, and Clint's paramour. The two head back to Clint's pad, and the two share a dance. It's here we get a recap of Clint's origins and past. He and Sheila are about to start making out when Clint gets a call. There's someone skulking around the CTE campus. Clint intercepts them.

Page 12, Panel 1

It's Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird! You may remember her from my look at Astonishing Tales #17 (April 1973). She and Clint tussle, with Bobbi revealing that she's here because she believes that CTE is developing components for a mind-control device. And Clint's unaware of it. The lights go on, and a bunch of CTE security men appear, and Clint hands her off to them. As he heads back to his home, Clint finds himself wondering if the former SHIELD agent is on to something. He decides "Eh, wouldn't hurt to check it out."

(shrug)

He gets ambushed by some CTE men. They have the Avenging Archer caught twenty-to-one. But our man was a former Avenger, an elite-level superhero. As such, he shows his skill and training. Taking out the lights, the Battling Bowman uses the darkness and confusion of the CTE men to whittle down the ranks. However, one of the men has a nasty surprise for our man Clint.

Page 17, Panel 8

Yup, they somehow have Sheila hostage. Clint surrenders, refusing to risk his main squeeze's life. They dump him in a tank...that also has Mockingbird in it.

Hawkeye demands the men let Sheila talk to him. However, it turns out that she was in on it, hired to keep Hawkeye distracted. Her relationship with him was all a lie.

The men start filling the vat with industrial waste. Bobbi is all like "Uh, Clint? They're pouring waste on us, we should try to get out of here." However, our man Clint seems to have really been hurt by Sheila's betrayal, as it left him in an emotional low point. Bobbi needs a way to get Clint to help, so she taunts him by claiming that he'd let the Avengers down if he felt bad, too. This makes Clint's blood boil, He uses a rocket-arrow tip, some rope in his boot, and his sky-sled to get him and Bobbi out of there. Clint has some business to take care of. Mainly, a visit to Sheila Danning.

Page 21, Panel 6

Eat yer heart out, Kool-Aid Man! Clint only wants two things: his bow and his quiver. He's furious with Sheila, and he wants to kill her for what she did to him, but...he can't. He doesn't have it in him to kill her...and he really doesn't care. He doesn't care what CTE is up to, he just wants his stuff and to leave. As he flies off, Sheila tells Hawkeye that he knows too much, and CTE will not let him walk away. The story ends with Hawkeye flying off with Bobbi, Clint blaming her for all of this.

This is a pretty good issue. It did a fine job tearing down Hawkeye's status quo at that point, and it feels like Gruenwald wanted to give the character a bit of a "fresh start", as it were. It is amusing that this company that is up to no good would hire a superhero to work security, though. They must not have thought Hawkeye was that bright, I guess. I did feel Sheila's betrayal was a bit sudden, though.

I knew Gruenwald more as a writer than a penciler, and I have to admit, I find his pencil work rather nice to look at. I think he's underrated as an artist. He does some clever things with panel layout, like when Clint and Bobbi are trapped in the waste vat. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2012 trade paperback Avengers: Hawkeye. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get vaccinated! See you next time!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Whether you celebrate or not, I hope you have a wonderful day today!

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Teaser, My Thoughts

The Mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe marches on! Fresh off the success of a certain Web-Head's latest cinematic adventure, the MCU heads towards its 28th film! Benedict Cumberbatch once more dons the Cloak of Levitation as Doctor Strange heads towards the Multiverse of Madness! The road to this film has been paved with the miniseries WandaVision and Loki, as well as the first Doctor Strange film and Spider-Man: No Way Home, this latest offering promises to be Marvel's first horror movie. Let's look at the teaser!

Turns out the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Avengers: Endgame may have messed up the Multiverse more than we thought.

Isn't that one of Strange's watches from the first movie?

"Awwww, great! This dimension is drunk!"

Strange is getting married!

Oh hai, America!

Wong really hates his life right now.

I always liked that they altered the Marvel logo for these teasers to make them fit each character. And this is an awesome twist on that. 

It's nice to see Wanda's found herself a hobby since her self-exile in WandaVision. And I can imagine her flipping through the Darkhold at the end of WandaVision is how she learned of the Multiverse.

They ain't in Kansas anymore...

Oh hey, Baron Mordo! I can imagine he had been out hunting magicians since the first Doctor Strange movie. Was he Dusted?

I have heard theories about Wanda going evil in this movie. There is precedence in the comics, after all. I can see why, but I honestly hope that doesn't happen. Wanda's been through a lot.

"I summon SNAKEHANDS!" 

I have heard some say that tentacle thing is Shuma-Gorath, but in the comics, Shuma can be much bigger...and is green.

Ooh, magic sawblade. Awesome.

"This is Doctor Strange on drugs. Any questions?" He gets real dark when he has cocaine in his system.

Well, I'm a Marvel fan, so you bet I am excited for this movie! I love that the MCU has gotten to the point where they can just say "Heck with it, let's get friggin' weird!" I cannot wait! Heck, I'm not a fan of horror films, and I want to see this!

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Saty safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccination and booster! See you next time!

Justice League of America #208 (November 1982)

In a superhero world, some crises can get pretty big. So big, that it takes multiple teams to take care of it. In the days of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Multiverse, such crises seem to happen literally once per year. These stories can arguably be seen as pre-cursors to modern-day event stories like King in Black or Endless Winter. This week, I thought it would be neat to look at a part of one of those stories. This JLA/JSA crossover story was so big that it required the addition of a third team: The All-Star Squadron.

Created by Roy Thomas, Jerry Ordway, and Rich Buckler, the All-Star Squadron debuted in Justice League of America #193 (August 1981). Much like the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Squadron were a large group, consisting of many of DC's Golden Age-era heroes, set in the days of World War II. The group would get their own book, which lasted from 1981 to 1987. The group's name was a reference to All Star Comics, the title that introduced the Justice Society. 

So, what kind of adventure would require the JLA, the JSA, and the All-Star Squadron? Let's find out in Justice League of America #208 (November 1982)!

The cover is a George Perez piece. Naturally, it is awesome. The center depicts the heroes of this story, members of the Earth-1 Justice League and the Earth-2 All-Star Squadron and Justice Society, heading towards what looks like a living atomic explosion. The explosion seems to cackle madly at the heroes, confident they cannot stop it. 

"Crisis on Earth-Prime Book Three: The Bomb-Blast Heard 'Round the World!"
Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Don Heck
Inker: Sal Trapani
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: Phil Felix
Editor: Len Wein
Executive Editor: Joe Orlando

The story begins with members of the All-Star Squadron being all like "Who are you and what're you doing here in our house?!"

Meet, from left to right, Dannette "Firebrand" Reilly, John "Johnny Quick" Chambers, Hank "Commander Steel" Heywood, Robert "Robotman" Crane, and Libby "Liberty Belle" Lawrence. Johnny Quick charges in and attacks the Earth-1 Hawkman. This results in the traditional "heroes brawl with each other over a misunderstanding" moment.

The All-Stars and Justice League face off, and Superman has had enough of this.

Everyone in that building is now deaf.

Robotman agrees with the Man of Steel on this. Johnny Quick points out that Superman doesn't quite look like the Superman "they" know. Mainly because the Earth-2 Superman's costume had a shorter cape and a slightly different "S" logo. 

Yeah, I'm beginning to wonder if the JSA ever told these guys about the JLA. But really, it's not a plot hole. The JSA didn't start having the annual teamups with the JLA until the 1960s, both in real time and in-universe. Anyway, the teams talk a bit, and Superman provides some historical spoilers, because the JSA are from 1942, and the JLA are from the then-present day 1982 Earth-1. Blast it, Supes! 

Anyway, we get a bit of a recap of how we got here. The JLA and JSA were going to have their annual meeting/team-up adventure. However, the Crime Syndicate (an evil version of the JLA from Earth-3), ambushed the JLA and escaped to Earth-1 in a shuttlecraft. The JLA transported themselves to Earth-2 and not only found the All-Star Squadron's headquarters in shambles...and a world under the tyranny of the time-traveling villain Per Degaton. 

Per Degaton's drunken rampages are...disturbing.

Yeah, I'm beginning to see why DC was seeing the Multiverse as getting a bit too confusing for new readers at the time. Anyway, the heroes realized that the headquarters had been left in that state since 1942. Hence, they're here. The All-Stars get a call from the White House. Harry Hopkins escorts them to meet his boss, the man he was the personal adviser of, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The President summoned our heroes because they got a strange little gift.

Yeah, it looks like a VCR. The JLA recognize it as a projector from their era. The projector starts playing footage of Per Degaton. The heroes realize it's a two-way communication system, as he tells them to shut up after Firestorm insults him. The signal is being relayed by a satellite, something that would not be seen for about fifteen years. He also has another thing from the future, something from much closer in time: Nuclear Bombs. And he's willing to demonstrate them tomorrow. 

We then next switch scenes to Earth-Prime in the then-present 1982. Members of the Justice Society are looking around the devastated world looking for life: Starman (Ted Knight), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson), Power Girl (Kara Zor-L), and Huntress (Helena Wayne). They ended up here thanks to...switching places with the Crime Syndicate in Limbo. I have no idea how that works. 

Anyway, they're trying to find their way back home...and find out how Earth-Prime ended up in this state. Green Lantern's ring detects life. The ring leads the JSAers to a tunnel...and to an ambush.

The JSA members are able to fight off the...rat...men...things. I don't know. Anyway, the...rat...men...things mention a "Mad One" who claimed to have warned them of others coming. The group discover who this "Mad One" is.

"...are you the pizza guy? I've been waiting THIRTY YEARS!"

An old, blind man surrounded by TVs. Using his magic, Dr. Fate reads the man's memories and reveals on Earth-Prime, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 escalated into nuclear war...and it was because Per Degaton stole the Russian nukes from Cuba. Let's jump back to Earth-2, 1942!

The JLA and ASQ members are on a boat.

Why are they on a boat? Well, boats are awesome. But also, they're there to witness Per Degaton's demonstration. Degaton drops his bomb. 

Zatanna summons a giant wave of water to protect the heroes from the nuke. There's gonna be a ton of radiation there, Zee. You may want to...I dunno, maybe magically clear that up?

Superman and Commander Steel spot a Time Bubble, a time-traveling gizmo often used by the Legion of Superheroes. The heroes find the JSAers that were traveling around in Earth-Prime's 1980s, and they need a doctor. Or six.

Per Degaton observes this from a jetliner. His bomb didn't kill the heroes, but he's fine with it. After all, his demonstration should convince the Axis and Allies alike to surrender to him, and then he can kill the JLA, JSA, and the All-Stars at his own convenience. 

I enjoyed this issue, but I admit, I did feel a bit confused about some things, but the story itself was not that hard to follow. I do feel this is one of those comics that is better read as part of a reading of the whole story at once. Don Heck's art is fine. I like his rendition of the post-apocalyptic mutants, although his rendition of Superman screaming "STOP IT" is wonky. It amused me, though.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the trade paperback Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 6. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get vaccinated! See you next time!

Avengers Forever #12 (December 1999)

Well, this is it! This is the end! Every month this year, I've looked at an issue of Avengers Forever. From what seemed like an insidious plot to kill long-time Avengers associate Rick Jones, sprouted a scheme to destroy humanity on an unimaginable scale...and a conspiracy that seemingly encircled the entire history of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. An adventure that took a ragtag team of Earth's Mightiest heroes from the Wild Wild West to a horrific future with humanity making one last desperate stand against alien invaders. 

And now this is it. The Avengers having to team with their long-time nemesis Kang the Conqueror to stop the Time-Keepers and their lackey Immortus (Kang's future self) from destroying humanity. Do they succeed? Let's find out in Avengers Forever #12!

The cover is a Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino, Steve Oliff, Tony Kelly, and John Roshell piece. Five people on one cover?!

Yeah. Anyway, it's pretty cool...if a bit basic. It depicts what looks like the 70s-era Avengers roster and allies charging into battle...until you notice Songbird and Sandman there. That's because this is meant to depict Avengers from various eras fighting together. It's a neat cover.

"Avengers Assemble"
Writers: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Penciller: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Olyoptics.com
Letterers: Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins with...well, a big ol' brawl. 

I'm serious. A big ol' brawl.

The Time-Keepers' Citadel has basically become a gigantic warzone, as various versions of Avengers from timelines that both went well and went wrong have waged an epic battle over the fate of humanity. In the room containing the Chrono-Cannon, the makeshift Avengers are also fighting to get to the Time-Keepers and the cannon. They notice the temporal tyrants trying to force Kang into becoming Immortus.

Yeah, the Time-Keepers are Cronenberg fans. Libra tries to strike the Time-Keepers, but one of them blasts him for his efforts.

Rick Jones's elder counterpart warns him that things will be rough for his younger self that things will be rough for a while, but it doesn't have to be that way. Just be smarter than him. The older Rick switches places one last time with Genis-Vell. Genis tells the young Rick to find a safe place to hide and wait this out. But Rick is like, "No way! I'm helping out!"

Wasp leads a group of heroic Avengers towards the Time-Keepers. It leads to another battle with a squadron of evil Avengers. Janet is understandably sickened and horrified by all the death that results. She's especially disturbed by a particular pair of casualties.

Is it a warning from the future? Were those alternate versions of herself and Hank? Who knows? But it only disturbs the Winsome Wasp more and makes her more determined to end this madness. Nearby, Songbird notes that Genis-Vell seems...sincere. It's because he knows that something is about to happen...and he's accepted it. I wonder what that could be...

The Time-Keepers have managed to almost completely transform Kang into Immortus. However, the Conquerer has managed to find new strength, literally ripping his way out of his own changing body. This causes an energy backlash that rocks the Time-Keepers. The Keepers summon some more "Dark Avengers" to defend them, and the "Avenger War" continues on. Rick Jones makes one desperate gambit to stop the Time-Keepers from activating the Chrono-Cannon. The young man draws the Destiny Force from all the Avengers into himself, and he slams into the Cannon as it fires.

And you guessed it, it makes a big ol' explosion.

Thankfully, the explosion doesn't cause the universe to go "Kablooie". The Chrono-Cannon is destroyed, at the seeming cost of Rick's life. Kang finishes the Time-Keepers off by blasting them into little pieces. Like that scene in Robocop where the ED-209 shoots that executive into powder. Kang takes a moment to gloat about it, when he notices that Captain America has the Forever Crystal. Cap gazes into the Crystal, feeling the temptation to use its time-altering power. 

After all, there's plenty of things Cap could have done with the Crystal. He could have rescued Bucky. He could have saved Rick Jones. He could have used it to prevent World War II by taking out Hitler. He could...even erase Number One from history. Remember, this is Captain America from just after the events of the first Secret Empire story, when he was rather disillusioned with America. 

In the end, though, Captain America realizes that such power has a price. It means the loss of freedom and dignity. And not even Captain America has the right to impose his way on others. He smashes the Forever Crystal to pieces in his hands. Kang gets in his face all like, "YOU HAD THE POWER TO REWRITE HISTORY TO YOUR WILL, AND YOU JUST THROW THAT AWAY!?" ...yeah, Kang does not comprehend Cap.

Anyway, it turns out that the Crystal is not permanently lost. And neither is Immortus.

Yeah, when Kang tore his way out of his own body earlier, what was left also somehow reformed into Immortus. Immortus, who quickly ages to young adulthood, explains that Cap's destruction of the Forever Crystal is only temporary. The Crystal will reform one day. Immortus knows this, as he's studied the thing for centuries. Hawkeye is left confused. If Kang is supposed to become Immortus, then how did the two end up becoming separate people? 

Well, Libra provides an answer. When the Time-Keepers tried to force Kang's eventual evolution into Immortus, and Kang tore his own way out of his changing body...it caused his personal timeline to split. It mirrors how Immortus had used the Forever Crystal to split Jim Hammond's body in two, allowing one Jim Hammond to become the Vision, and the other to get revived as the Original Human Torch and joined the West Coast Avengers.

Immortus has a good attitude about his revival. He sees his rebirth as a second chance. He wasted his old life in service to the Time-Keepers, and he's quite eager to see where his path goes this time around. Kang is overjoyed as well. His own future is now as well unwritten. He feared become what he considered a simpering academic, but now...his fate is up in the air. Both Immortus and Kang leave. 

But there's a more pressing concern. The ragtag Avengers found Rick Jones' body...his dying body. There's only one way to save him now...and Genis-Vell knows it. With the help of the Supreme Intelligence, Genis-Vell takes a fateful step....

Rick is saved, thanks to Genis merging Rick's life-force with his own. The heroes have won today, but have learned a valuable lesson. Humanity has a great spirit, an indomitable spirit. But that spirit needs to be tempered. Kang was that spirit at its most raw, unfiltered, and aggressive. And it made him into a conqueror. A tyrant. That spirit needs to be tempered by compassion and a desire to respect the rights and freedoms of others. And with that, the remaining Avengers are returned to their proper points in time.

When the "present day" Rick, Wasp, and Giant-Man return to their proper time, Rick notices he's wearing the Nega-Bands again. He clanks them together.

He finds himself switched with Genis-Vell, whose appearance suddenly changes to resemble his older self. Likely thanks to a time-flux. The younger Genis has now gained the Cosmic Awareness his father Mar-Vell and his older self was shown to have, but is none too happy about being bonded to Rick. Wasp and Hank decided to make a report on this...later. They're tired, and they need a drink.

An epilogue shows Libra on the Moon, discussing things with the Supreme Intelligence. The former supervillain is wondering what the Supreme Intelligence gained from this adventure. The Intelligence is not sure, but he expects to be happy with the results. Libra has research to get back to, thinking it will be interesting to see where and when the Forever Crystal will return. When Libra leaves, the Intelligence focuses his energies...

And the Forever Crystal reappears right in front of him. I smell a potential sequel...

This was an epic ending to the story. The best part of this was the big ol' Avengers War in the Time-Keepers' chamber. It was really cool looking at the various cameos of characters from throughout Marvel history. I also liked the callback to various old What If and alternate universe stories. What is interesting about this big event is that in a bizarre way...how many people actually won here. The Avengers managed to save humanity from the Time-Keepers, and Kang managed to free himself from his destiny. Heck, even Immortus won, getting not only reborn, but also freed from the Time-Keepers. This was an epic ending to an epic story.

I have nothing against Carlos Pacheco's art, but here...of all the issues of Avengers Forever that I've looked at, this is the one I wish the most that George Perez drew. This issue features epic battles with loads of characters. This would have looked incredible under Perez. On its own merits, Pacheco doesn't do a bad job at all. It's still good to look at. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Avengers Forever. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get vaccinated! See you next time!