Issue(s): Avengers #228, Avengers #229, Avengers #230
Published Date: Feb-Mar 83
Title: "Trial and error!" / "Final curtain!"
Credits:
Roger Stern - Writer
Al Milgrom - Penciler
Brett Breeding / Joe Sinnott - Inker
Mike Carlin - Assistant Editor
Mark Gruenwald - Editor

Review/plot:
Everyone's on edge as Henry Pym goes on trial for attempting to steal adamantium from a government compound.

Frankly, Egghead, who is presumed dead, should have just sat back and let Pym take the rap for the crime he forced Pym into, but he's got a more convoluted scheme. He sends his new Masters of Evil to "rescue" Pym at the courthouse, pretend that they're acting on his orders.

One of my favorite scenes from a comic is in this issue, right before the jail break. Tiger Shark, after stumbling into Egghead's headquarters while engaged in a pointless fight with the Shocker...

...sees Radioactive Man in his civilian form and says, "Hey! What's this big gook doin' here?".

Dr. Lu transforms into the Radioactive Man, impressing the hell out of everyone in the room and leaving Tiger Shark stammering out an apology.

The Avengers respond to the MoE's attack, but the bad guys have the upper hand. Radioactive Man is able to generate gamma rays that convert the She-Hulk back into Jennifer Walters.

He then causes Thor's hammer to hit Captain America.

Basically, the Radioactive Man is a badass. The Masters of Evil get away, but the Shocker is left behind, deliberately, because it turns out he's a patsy, and Egghead planted a post-hypnotic suggestion in his head that makes him confirm that Pym is their leader.

Egghead tries to convince Pym to join the Masters of Evil. Pym, looking desperate and ruined, seemingly goes along with it.

But instead of building the gadget Egghead wanted, he actually builds a device that allows him to singlehandedly defeat the team.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye deliberately enrages Jennifer Walters to help her turn back into She-Hulk.

And Captain Marvel gets the idea to use a device on the Shocker to see if he's been brainwashed.

With all of that settled, the Avengers head out to Egghead's base in time to find the bad guys defeated. But while Pym isn't looking, Egghead pulls out a gun to shoot Pym.

Hawkeye shots an arrow into the gun's barrel, causing it to explode, killing Egghead.

Afterwards, there is an official Avengers inquisition on both Pym and Hawkeye. It's confirmed that Pym wasn't under any kind of mind control when he hit Janet and launched the fake robot attack. But Hawkeye is absolved of any guilt for killing Egghead.

Pym leaves the Avengers, with some well-written heartfelt drama as he says goodbye to the team and to Janet. He leaves behind his Yellowjacket suit.

Great characterization from Roger Stern again. I especially like his She-Hulk. Of Captain America, she says at one point: "Yeah, he does pretty well for a guy with no powers, but I could take him!". His Moonstone is really great, too (it's his character, of course).

But Stern is really good all around at making all of the team talk and act like real people.

During the course of these issues, Iron Man goes missing.

Two additional developing sub-plots: Plantman is escaping from prison...

...and Captain Mar-vell's former girlfriend Elysius releases Eros of Titan from the vow he made to Mar-vell that he would look after her after Mar-vell died.

Quality Rating: A-

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - death of Egghead

Chronological Placement Considerations: Vision & the Scarlet Witch are shown watching coverage of the trial from their home in New Jersey. Iron Man goes missing from the Avengers this issue, so he shouldn't appear as a member of the team in any other books.

References:

• Iron Man wants to use a cerebral scanner to prove that Henry Pym is reeling from the influence of Moondragon when she messed with the Avengers' heads in Avengers #211.
  
• The Vision comments that the "circumstances of the Pyms' wedding were far from ideal.". The footnote is for Avengers #68, but the wedding was actually in Avengers #60.
  
• Egghead explains how he survived his seeming death at the hands of the Cobolt Man in Defenders #43: a single use experimental teleportation mechanism that brought him to New Jersey. "And unlike death, one can usually return from the state of New Jersey." Heh.
  
• Tiger Shark wanted a rematch against She-Hulk beat him up in Avenger #222.
  
• Hawkeye makes reference to the fact that he's got a score to settle with Egghead since Egghead killed his brother in Avengers #64
  
• Trish Starr, Egghead's niece, distributes his ashes out at sea. Egghead maimed Trish in a car explosion in Giant-Size Defenders #4. Fred Sloan and Henry Pym accompanied Trish on the ocean trip.

Cross-over: N/A

Continuity Implant? N

Reprinted In: N/A