Issue(s): Avengers #270
Cover Date: Aug 86
Title: "Wild in the streets!"
Credits:
Roger Stern - Writer
John Buscema - Breakdowns
Tom Palmer - Finishes
Howard Mackie - Assistant Editor
Mark Gruenwald - Editor

Review/plot:
There has been a protest brewing over the inclusion of the Sub-Mariner into the Avengers. In the previous arc the Wasp acknowledged that she neglected to get ahead of the problem by making a formal announcement about his membership (maybe she didn't believe he'd stay), and then the Avengers were all transported to Limbo. So by the time they get back, the demonstrations outside have gotten large and also attracted counter-protestors.

Hercules has an idea for what to do about the protestors, and he's not at all happy when the Wasp rejects it.

The protests really get out of hand when someone in the crowd starts telling a story about how Namor killed her husband, but Derek Freeman of the FBI has been on the lookout for Karla Sofen, aka Moonstone, and his team quickly identifies her as the woman instigating the crowd.

While the other Avengers try to quell the crowd...

...and deal with the damage caused by Moonstone, the Wasp spots her and pursues her into the sewer.

When Moonstone emerges alone claiming that she took care of the Wasp, the Black Knight, already rattled by the way his sword reacts to her power, gets enraged and knocks Moonstone out.

The Wasp turns out to be ok, though.

Moonstone is put into a police truck, but it turns out that her captors are actually the Absorbing Man and Titania, and they've got a proposition for her.

As Absorbing Man points out (not shown above), whatever Moonstone was attempting to accomplish in this issue doesn't seem to have been very strategic, and she was also a little uncharacteristically panicked while fighting the Avengers.

I do like her playing the role of an instigator, and i think the point here may be that while Moonstone is formidable on her own, her skills are even more valuable as part of a larger team.

The issue ends with a lawyer, Mr. Costello, agreeing to help Sub-Mariner face some of his formal accusers, a group of insurance investors that want to sue Namor for the property damage he's caused over the years (estimated at two billion dollars). Namor demands a speedy trial so that he can make his case to the public. But then Namor's Atlantean cousin, Byrrah, arrives at Avengers mansion to tell him that Attuma has captured Marrina and is holding her as bait. Namor waves off help from the other Avengers and leaves with Byrrah (the Black Knight was trying to convince Namor to take the Avengers along, but Hercules knows all about honor).

Just continued great super-heroics from a super creative team, and obviously building towards the legendary Masters of Evil saga.

One panel with the protestors looks like a creator portrait. I guess that's Roger Stern and his wife?

Parents for Sub-Mariner? Students? Surely not rodents...

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The Avengers return from Limbo towards the beginning of this issue. Namor leaves the Avengers to investigate the information from Byrrah at the end of this issue, kicking off a crossover with Alpha Flight. The MCP places a number of Avengers appearances during this issue before that last page.

References:

• A blanket amnesty for past crimes was granted to the Sub-Mariner in the Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner mini-series.
  
• After Kang attacked her with Darkforce energy last issue, Captain Marvel asks the Black Knight to help her learn to deal with it, since he helped the Wasp get a better handle on her powers in Avengers #264.
  
• Captain Marvel says this is not the first time she was stopped by Darkforce energy. The first time was in Avengers #236-237, against Blackout.
  
• Moonstone notes the Wasp's ability to retain her size while flying, a power she's gained since the last time they fought, in Avengers #238.
  
• Titania bills herself as having "once beat She-Hulk to within an inch of her life" in Secret Wars #7, but the footnote reminds us that she did have help.
  
• A footnote for Byrrah's story about Attuma tells us to see Alpha Flight #36 for the full story.

Crossover: Avengers: Under Siege

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Walt and Louise Simonson?

The insurance guy, Leslie Farrington, was previously shown as one of the suspects for the Imperial Hydra in Strange Tales 137-139.

Thanks Michael. Cool move on Roger Stern's part.

Fun issue, and I count the beginning of the Masters of Evil storyline to this issue. It's the first time we see recruiting going on. I think OHOTMU #8 already ruined the surprise for me, but it certainly increased the anticipation.

Great characterization of Hercules. His attitudes to many things are very untypical for heroic characters, and does a lot to distinguish him from Thor and the other super strong characters.

One thing I really like is that Stern is acknowledging that Sub-Mariner has a very tortured past, and he doesn't neglect it simply because he's now on the team. It's clear Stern thought about all the implications and story potential of giving him membership. In the short less than a year he's on the team, Sub-Mariner seems more in place as an Avenger than he ever did as a Defender.

such a great touch with the WWII veterans remembering Sub--Mariner and vouching for him. Stern really wove such a deep tapestry, and it's still a shame that he was taken off of this title.

I just read this recently. I liked that Moonstone is cocky enough to think that she can just manipulate any situation she gets into and doesn't necessarily have an exit strategy. She's become an interesting character over the years, not a mastermind villain per se, but one that's always trying to play all the angles. On top of that she's got a considerable amout of raw power as well. I don't think there are too many female villains in comics with that combination of traits.
Another thing I noticed about this issue: It's surprising how good the art looks with John Buscema only doing breakdowns. Tom Palmer gets a lot of credit as an inker of course, but I don't think he's really acknowledged for just how much texture and detail he brings to the table.

FNORD - when you wrote "Parents for Sub-Mariner? Students? Surely not rodents..."

I looked up a list of words that end in "ents" -
http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ents/

One possibility is "Agents of Sub-Mariner."
or "Clients of Sub-Mariner."
The list goes on and on.

Moonstone is a comapratively "realistic" sociopath: she's charismatic manipulative, and intelligent, but ultimately too impulsive and narcissistic to really make anything work in the long-term. This gets played up quite a bit in the Busiek and Nicieza Thunderbolts.

"....while Moonstone is formidable on a team, her skills are even more valuable as part of a larger team." Don't you mean "formidable on her own" or something like that?