Avengers 2.24 - Avengers #118-#119

To read Avengerous Tales 2.23, go here!

Once again we turn to The Defenders—Issue Ten, to be precise—for the next chapter of our ongoing crossover.  Here we see Hulk and Thor reviving their old rivalry, but they don’t get the chance to finally determine who’s stronger before the Defenders and the Avengers show up, together at last and ready to get to the bottom of how their feud began.
 

The Hulk is reluctant to follow orders any more but is eventually persuaded to give up the Evil Eye.  The Silver Surfer has brought along the other pieces, but before they can do anything with them, one of Dormammu’s lackeys sweeps into our dimension just long enough to scoop up the Evil Eye and deliver it to his master.  Dormammu promptly puts it to bad use, shifting Earth into his own dimension so he can conquer it and turning New York into a ghoulish monster-ridden hellscape.  I was gonna make a joke about that last part, but… nah.  Too easy.  Gotta draw the line somewhere.
 

Avengerous Tales 2.23 - Avengers #116-#117

To read Avengerous Tales 2.22, go here!

Before I start discussing the Avengers today, we need to discuss another comic: The Defenders.

See, the previous issue of The Avengers was basically a set up for a big crossover with The Defenders, which focused on the adventures of another set of heroes who defend instead of avenge, I guess?

 

Oh well exCUSE ME.  P.S. Namor, Ken called, he wants his magic earring back.

Avengerous Tales 2.22 - Avengers #114-#115

To read Avengerous Tales 2.21, go here!

Apparently the Swordsman and Mantis have gotten into Hank Pym’s store of growth serum.  So has that bug, for that matter.

Avengerous Tales 2.15 - Avengers #100-#101

To read Avengerous Tales 2.14, go here!

I am going to need so many tags for this.
 

Avengerous Tales 2.7 - Avengers Annual #4, Avengers #84-#85

To read Avengerous Tales 2.6, go here!

Avengers Annual #4—a.k.a. Avengers Special #4 (the names of the annuals get a bit fuzzy after the first one)—is just like Avengers Annual/Special #3, in that there is not a single panel of new material in it.  It’s just back-to-back reprints of Avengers #5 and #6, so refer to Avengerous Tales 1.3 if you’d like to read my thoughts on them.  For now, let’s move on to the next regular issue of The Avengers, Issue Eighty-Four.

Avengerous Tales 1.37 - Avengers #70-#71

To read Avengerous Tales 1.36, go here! 

Wait, why are we back to the old font?  I guess people didn’t like the new one…?

Avengerous Tales 1.33 - Avengers #61-#62

To read Avengerous Tales 1.32, go here!

A quick pit stop at Dr. Strange #178 before we begin today’s tale:

With his dying breath, the villain Asmodeus utters a spell that will cause the fire giant Surtur and the frost/ice giant Ymir (whom you may recognize from both Norse mythology and Thor comics) to come wreak havoc on Earth in one hour.  The only people who know how to break that spell are the Sons of Satannish, who are being held prisoner in the sixth dimension by a jerk named Tiboro.  Strange doesn’t really want to go there alone, so he tracks down our old pal the Black Knight—whose sword contains mystical properties—and enlists him as a road trip buddy.

And everything seems to go great.  Dr. Strange and the Black Knight defeat Tiboro, who agrees to release the Sons of Satannish.  Problem solved, right?  Well…

 

Avengerous Tales 1.29 - Avengers #55-#56

 

To read Avengerous Tales 1.28, go here!

I don't have any clever cut text for you this time, so you'll have to click the button below to see my incredible wit at work.

Avengerous Tales 1.28 - Avengers #53-#54

To read Avengerous Tales 1.27, go here!

 

Oh good, another hero vs. hero battle.  You know how much I love those.

Okay.  Avengers #53 is actually the continuation of a story that began in X-Men #43-45, so we’ll recap that one first real quick.  I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that Magneto has captured the X-Men and is keeping them captive on his private island.  Angel escapes and, after a short delay, makes his way to the Avengers to enlist their help in rescuing his team.

While Angel is out, Cyclops manages to escape also, only to be waylaid by Quicksilver, who tries to convince him to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  Cyclops refuses and Quicksilver threatens to straight-up murder him, but Cyclops knocks him out, mostly by accident.  That’s when the Avengers show up, and they’re not exactly pleased about their former member being unconscious, even though Quicksilver plainly abandoned them last issue, but I guess you can’t be on a team with someone for so long without forming some tight bonds.

Avengerous Tales 1.25 - Avengers #47-#48

 

To read Avengerous Tales 1.24, go here!

I assume that by now most people know who Magneto is, yes?  Well in X-Men #11, he tried to recruit a mysterious fellow called the Stranger for his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  This just annoys the Stranger, who ends up transporting Magneto and his toadie, Toad (GET IT???), to an abandoned planet. 

But it turns out the Stranger is kind of a moron, as said planet has rockets on it, and Magneto uses one to return to Earth by X-Men #18, leaving Toad behind.  In this issue, Magneto tries to destroy the X-Men for the millionth time, but Professor X just sends a telepathic signal to the Stranger, who comes to retrieve Magneto and return him to the other planet.  Yes, the same planet that Magneto was easily able to escape from before, but for some reason, he doesn’t try the same trick again.

And that’s where Avengers #47 begins.