Issue(s): Avengers #239
Cover Date: Jan 84
Title: "Late night of the super-stars!"
Credits:
Roger Stern - Writer
Al Milgrom & Joe Sinnott - Penciler
Joe Sinnott - Inker

Review/plot:
This is Assistant Editors' Month, and the Avengers go on the David Letterman show. Similar to the Saturday Night Live issue of Marvel Team-Up, the humor in this book fails to match the quality of the show.

The funniest bit is actually due to Hawkeye being deaf as a result of the events of his limited service. He's memorized the questions that Dave is supposed to ask, but when the Beast disrupts the flow by dropping the bombshell that he's formed his own group of Defenders, hijinx ensues.

Actually, it's a bunch of reserve members of the Avengers that go on the show. Hawkeye returns to the Avengers Mansion with his new bride Mockingbird...

...only to find that, aside from the Vision's new holographic self, no one is home.

Then Wonder Man calls. His agent booked a spot on the Letterman show and promised that the other Avengers would show up too, putting Simon on the spot.

The Vision calls on Beast, Black Panther, and Black Widow to join Wonder Man and Hawkeye.

Joke villain Fabian Stankowicz takes the opportunity to attack.

He's defeated by Letterman himself.

We learn that Stankowicz is self-funded due to the fact that he won the state lottery.

Stern is a good writer and this is a well written issue. It just isn't as funny as the premise suggests it would be.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - David Letterman issue. Hawkeye rejoins the Avengers.

Chronological Placement Considerations: The other Avengers are "investigating a mysterious phenomenon on the West Coast". This is actually a reference to the Spider-Woman plot introduced at the end of #238 and featured in #240-241, but it neatly coincides with all of the Marvel Editors being on the West Coast during Assistant Editors' Month.

References:

• The Vision was disabled while fighting Annihilus in Avengers #233.
  
• Hawkeye met and married Mockingbird, and also damaged his hearing, in the limited series Hawkeye #1-4.
  
• Fabian Stankowicz appeared previously in Avengers #217 and Avengers #221.

Crossover: Assistant Editors' Month

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Ironically, I get to this issue just as Letterman is about to end his run.

Of course, when this issue came out, I was just turning nine years old and had no idea who Letterman was.

For this to be a realistic depiction, Letterman needs to be oogling Widow on-air.

Spiderman on SNL!
Avengers on Letterman!
Would Count Duckula on Geraldo count, too?