Avengers Forever #1 (December 1998)

Every year, I like to devote one month to look at an issue of a twelve-issue miniseries. I admit, last year's looks at Wonder Woman's Twelve Labors wasn't a mini per se, but it was a storyline that allowed me to do one review a year. And it was...not great. I wish it was. But this year, I can cover a miniseries I love. So the year's going well for me already!

If you've been on this blog a while, you'd probably know by now I am a big fan of Kurt Busiek's 1998-2002 run on The Avengers. It was one of the comics that made me a fan not just of the Avengers (Yeah, I was an Avengers fan before the MCU made it cool to love the Avengers), but of comics as a medium thanks to his writing being backed up by the artwork of guys like George Perez, Jerry Ordway, and Alan Davis. 

As such, with 2021 arriving, I knew what I wanted to cover for the year: Avengers Forever, a 12-issue miniseries from 1998-99. How did this miniseries come about? Well, let's travel back to 1998. Spanish artist Carlos Pacheco had just finished up a run on X-Men. He then told Marvel that he wanted to work with Kurt Busiek on an Avengers project. Marvel thought "Hmm, Carlos and Kurt doing an Avengers thing? That sounds frickin' cool, let's make this happen!" 

Busiek himself had been wanting to work with Pacheco on something. He had first discovered the artist thanks to his work on the Marvel UK title Dark Guard and was "This dude does awesome art". Pacheco, Busiek, and editor Tom Brevoort worked out a story based on an old pitch Busiek had sent for Captain America's 50th anniversary in 1991. The basic idea was that longtime Avengers and Hulk supporting character Rick Jones would get sent into an alternate universe in which the Marvel Universe's history had run differently. This story would have been called Avengers: World in Chains. The two had started work on it...

...but then the title Mutant X was announced. This 1998-2001 title told the tale of X-Men member Havok getting thrown into a parallel universe...where things ran very differently. Yeah. So, Busiek and Pacheco needed another story. 

Mark Waid suggested the idea that the new story involve Avengers from different points in history. Busiek then drew from the Kree-Skrull War...and Avengers Forever was born. Early on, Busiek realized he was going to need a bit of help with writing this. Keep in mind, at this time, he was writing not just the Avengers' comic, he was also writing the Thunderbolts' and Iron Man's books. Roger Stern was brought in to help out, and the rest is history. So, with that out of the way, let's look at Avengers Forever #1! 

The cover is pretty cool. It's a Carlos Pacheco and George Perez piece. Front and center is Rick Jones, sitting in his wheelchair with some energy crackling in his fingers. Behind him is a bunch of heads of various Avengers members over the years. I noticed the words "Hot Tuna" on Rick's shirt, and wondered if it's a reference to something. Turns out there's a long-running blues band by that name. Makes sense, as Rick in the comics has been known to be a singer and guitar player. It's a unique cover.

"Destiny Made Manifest"
Writer: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern (Plot), Kurt Busiek (script)
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterers: Richard Starkings, Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-In-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins on the planet Beta Centauri IV, in the 26th century. We look in on the city of Zatoa, the source of the sound-sensitive metal known as Yaka, which is used to make special arrows. It's also where the fruit known as kruna is grown. It's a delicious fruit. Tastes kind of like oranges, with a bit of lemony zest. It is in this city we join a party of Centuarians. 

If you've ever watched the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, you may be familiar with the Centuarians. Yondu Udonta was one. This particular group is a guerilla force with one goal: Seize a spaceship. There's a group of satellites over their world, and if they get a spaceship, they can destroy them. However, before they can strike, they are struck...still. But this guerilla group are not the only ones. It's like somebody hit pause button on the planet. 

Then...the ships come. The ships come, raining death and destruction on this world and its people. But it's not enough. The armies come. Scores of men armed with hammers donning winged helms. Men in red and gold armor raining repulsor rays. Dark knights in blue, white, and red, wielding large shields and swords. And finally, tiny men in silver and red, sneaking into nooks and crannies.

Their rampage is swift and brutal. nearly a fifth of Beta Centauri IV's surface is ravaged, and about a third of its population are dead. And the one responsible is all too happy to reveal themselves.

"My Avengers demand...a shrubbery!"

This is Jonz Rickard, and this was a punishment. No kill like overkill must be the Rickard family's motto. Basically, the Centaurians have dared to defy the Avengers. And a price must be paid for it. Rickard then leaves the shattered planet and inhabitants to themselves. All this is observed by a trio of beings.

"Worst. Timeline. Ever."

It's a very nice bit of the cosmic coincidence that I looked at the Loki trailer from Disney's Investor Day before this. I did mention these guys in my look at them. They are the Time Keepers. They do not like what they're seeing here. Something has to be done. And unlike the Monitors in Countdown to Final Crisis, they will do something.

We shift back to the past. The then-present to be exact. We look in on the Blue Area of the Moon. After the events of Avengers #9 (October 1998), the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree has been living there, as part of a failed Kree invasion of Earth. Since the Avengers foiled the invasion, SHIELD and the science agency Starcore have occupied the Blue Area. The Avengers have also brought a guest with them: One Rick Jones.

This isn't the first time the Avenges had to deal with Rick Jones's hangovers...

Jones is rather important to this team. You see, he was the one who helped originally bring them together. He worked with the team through its early adventures, a particular high point being the events of Avengers #89-97 (June 1971-March 1972), aka the Kree-Skrull War. The Avengers fought mightily to stop the two alien races from bringing their war to Earth, but it was Rick who finlly settled it. With some help from the Supreme Intelligence. The Intelligence had unlocked the evolutionary potential of humanity within him, and he summoned a group of Golden Age-era heroes to help stop the war.

After this, Rick went on to further adventuring, mainly being associated with the Hulk. Sadly, in Incredible Hulk #457 (October 1997), the Green Goliath crippled Jones and nearly beat him to death. And in Incredible Hulk #470 (November 1998), he collapsed due to a mysterious illness. However, Iron Man has been able to figure out that Jones's current condition is related to the energies that he used to summon the Golden Age heroes during the Kree-Skrull War. 

That's why the Avengers are here. They're hoping the Supreme Intelligence can help. They're reluctant to let the Kree supercomputer examine him alone like it wants to, but here's the thing. The Intelligence could easily kill Jones if it wanted to. Also, the Intelligence needs the humans here at Starcore and SHIELD to help maintain it, so...yeah. Earth's Mightiest are over a barrel here...but the Intelligence is over a bigger one. Cap agrees and tells the Kree leader they expect a report in 24 hours.

When they leave, a new figure makes himself known. This figure and the Intelligence have had some secret conversations recently. The figure says that it's time. He serves the balance, and this is a critical point in history. This is the point in which humanity's destiny is determined once and for all. Freedom or stagnation. The figure has a vested interest in this because...he's still human. But he wonders why the Intelligence is interested in this. After all, it is an enemy of Earth. It reminds the man of the events of Operation: Galactic Storm, and the steps it took in that story to free its people of its evolutionary stagnation. He's wondering how humanity will handle it.

In the extradimensional realm known as Limbo, the being known as Immortus observes the injured Rick Jones, and grimly sends out the being known as Tempus to take him out...while freezing time around the base.

"Kill me...kill me..."

However, Jones gets the most unlikely of rescuers.

"Surprise, mothatrucka!"

Yup, longtime Avengers enemy Kang the Conqueror is here to save the day. Tempus confuses him for his master Immortus. Yeah, that's because Immortus is Kang's future self. Time traveling, everybody! Immortus demands that Tempus must kill Jones. After all, the safety of reality depends on it. Kang then presumably kills Tempus...which is something that Tempus wants. Yeah, Tempus is basically made of Limbo itself, and he can't die as a result. He hates that, so yeah. Don't feel bad for him, he's happy.

Immortus then summons an army from soldiers throughout time to fight his younger self. From Roman centurions to cowboys to medieval knights to Custer-style horse cavalry. Kang just whips out a pair of futuristic pistols and starts his own idea of a turkey shoot.

I'm surprised no one has made a DOOM mod based on this.

Immortus implores Kang to give it up. He can summon an army of trillions from throughout time and space. Even Kang can't fight something like that. Not alone anyway. But Kang, being Kang, is all eager to take them on. He knows he'll become Immortus one day...and he hates it. To him, Immortus is a sniveling wimp, and Kang finds it utterly disgusting that he'll become him. It's here that Rick Jones wakes up. The Intelligence signals that the time has come. The figure that he was talking to earlier touches Rick's neck. The energies that Rick channeled during the Kree-Skrull War fire up again, and heroes are summoned.

These Avengers all need a big ol' drink...

Instead of a gaggle of Golden Age heroes, Rick has summoned seven Avengers, all from different points in time and space. The Destiny War has begun.

This was awesome. It really is awesome. The idea of Kang and Immortus being in conflict is an interesting one, especially since that the theme of their fight is predestination. Kang is going to become Immortus one day. Kang is at heart a warrior, a conqueror, a fighter. For him, becoming Immortus is a fate worse than death. It's kind of the double-edged sword of being a time-traveler...and it makes sense. If you know your fate, and you know it's an unpleasant one, you'd try to fight it.

One of the things I love about the story is the call-back to previous Avengers tales, particularly the Kree-Skrull War. It's pretty obvious that Busiek is a fan of the 1970s-era team, as his Avengers work contained plenty of callbacks to it. The setup is a very interesting one. Why would these two incarnations of a time-traveling supervillain fight over the life of an ordinary man? 

Carlos Pacheco would turn in some enjoyable art. This was the first time he'd work with American inker Jesus Merino. Since then, Merino would be the regular inker of Pacheco's work. It's very enjoyable to look at. There is almost a cartoony vibe to it.

I love this miniseries, and I can't wait to take you on this ride through time and the Avengers' past. 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 liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time, when we take a look at the beginnings of a living robot...