Issue(s): Avengers #369
Cover Date: Dec 93
Title: "Of kith and kin"
Credits:
Bob Harras - Writer
Steve Epting & Jan Duursema - Penciler
Tom Palmer & Don Hudson - Inker
Pat Garrahy - Assistant Editor
Ralph Macchio - Editor

Review/plot:
The final chapter of Bloodties coincides with the final double-sized foil cover (Marvel put out 4 such issues this year to "celebrate" the Avengers' 30th anniversary). The good news is that there are no back-ups, so the entire issue is devoted to concluding Bloodties. The bad news is that the issue was a strain on the creative team, so Jan Duursema is a credited penciler assisting regular artist Steve Epting, and the letters page belatedly adds Don Hudson as an inking assistant as well as three additional colorists.

Exodus is confronting Fabian Cortez, who is trying to use Luna as leverage to get Crystal, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Jean Grey to protect him (note that Exodus was "awaken[ed]" by Magneto).

But Exodus takes Luna and kills Cortez.

Exodus is also doing something to the sky, cutting off Genosha from the rest of the world (it's later determined that he's going to crush the island nation and everyone on it), so the other X-Men and Avengers gather (except for the small group with Xavier). Cyclops gets a passive-aggressive dig in.

And Storm says that while the Avengers and the X-Men have never had a "happy association", they should "put away past bitterness" to deal with the current crisis.

Then Professor X summons the X-Men to where he, the Beast, USAgent, and the small contingent of "bipartisan" freedom fighters are trying to liberate the mutant concentration camp.

Then Exodus shows up to give a long speech that i feel comfortable not reading since Cap says it's "insane" and Xavier says that Exodus is "a boy... seeking to fill the shoes of a giant".

Half of the heroes are still diverted towards keeping the human and mutate Genoshans from tearing each others' throats out, and others have to fight the Unforgiven, who, in the tradition of disposable mutant villains started by the Dark Riders, have switched alliances on a dime.

But a contingent of heroes do fight Exodus himself...

When Xavier detects that Exodus is near his limit, he mentally blasts him...

...but it's the Black Knight, of all people, who delivers the coup de grace.

I say "of all people" in the context of this story. You'd think that someone related to Luna, someone with, say, a "blood tie" to Magneto, might get to deliver the final blow. But in the context of Bob Harras' Avengers run, the Black Knight is less surprising, since Harras definitely seems to have taken an interest in building the character up. And the previous chapter did establish that the Black Knight has some forgotten connection with Exodus, even if that hasn't been developed any further.

No one bothers to secure Exodus. The heroes immediately turn to helping victims of the war and giving speeches (note that the mutates are "equally wrong" for using violence to fight back against genocide)...

...and Exodus, when he recovers, is allowed to leave unimpeded.

Actually he blasts Quicksilver as he leaves, but the Black Knight once again gets to be the hero by giving Quicksilver CPR. Another point to the use of the Black Knight is to settle the romance between him and Crystal now that Quicksilver is back in the picture.

If the events of this story convinced the Avengers to get more involved in world affairs or in mutant rights, we don't hear about it. The story does get Professor X wondering about maintaining his secret ID, though.

This crossover is perfectly readable. Its no classic but it's not as horrible as a lot of crossovers from this era. Despite the seemingly high stakes, it really feels designed to be inconsequential, especially when you remember that the name of the story implies that something important or at least relevant will happen with Magneto's children. I would have loved to see a story where the situation in Genosha was a little less extreme and Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were tempted to utilize their father's legacy to unite the mutates and fight back against the humans, maybe with a stronger reference to Cortez's attempt to recruit Quicksilver in X-Factor #92 (which is mentioned, but just in passing). Instead, basically, there's a lot of running around and screaming through saliva ropes...

...but nothing ultimately happening, especially as it relates to anyone's "bloodties".

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is the fifth and final part of Bloodties.

References:

• Cortez tells Quicksilver that "none of this would be happening" if Quicksilver had joined forces with him in X-Factor #92.
  
• Narration boxes say that when the X-Men and the Avengers last met, it was over the rights of Magneto. You can quibble about whether or not it's really when the teams last met, but that's a reference to X-Men vs. Avengers #1-4.
  
• The "first" Genoshian crisis was in X-Tinction Agenda, beginning in Uncanny X-Men #270.
  
• Nick Fury has been working with Black Widow's contingent of Avengers despite them having fought SHIELD in X-Men #26.

Crossover: Bloodties

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Bloodties TPB

"The bad news is that the issue was a strain on the creative team, so Jan Duursema is a credited penciler assisting regular artist Steve Epting, and the letters page belatedly adds Don Hudson as an inking assistant as well as three additional colorists."
That's because this issue was three weeks late.
I thought it was too obvious that Dane knew Exodus from the Crusades.
Note that Dane saving Pietro's life because Crystal loves him is exactly the opposite of Proctor's behavior. EXACTLY the opposite.

I love that panel of the Unforgiven standing over an unconscious Revanche. Nothing reminds me of her utter superfluousness more than this story, where she appears randomly in the background of a group shot in UNCANNY #307, and then again here, where she's knocked out.

The connection between Black Knight & Exodus won't be explored further until 1996 in the Black Knight: Exodus one shot. Time travel is involved. I think the Doctor Who phrase "...a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff" is appropriate to refer to this mess here.

No idea if fnord will be covering the Black Knight: Exodus special, since it's set centuries in the past. So, for those who are curious about it...

Exodus is really Bennet du Paris, a French knight from the 12th Century who fought in the Crusades. He was a friend of Dane Whitman's ancestor Eobar Garrington, the Black Knight of that era. At one point Dane's time-displaced consciousness occupied Garrington's body, which is why he kinda sorta recognizes Exodus here. Some time after this both the Black Knight and Sersi are transported to the 12th Century, with Dane once more occupying Garrington's body. They encountered Bennet du Paris, who was revealed to be a latent mutant. His abilities are then activated by Apocalypse, transforming him into Exodus.

How do you mean, Michael? Was Quiksilver even involved with anything Proctor related?

This actually won't be the end of Black Knight pinning over Crystal as I think he and Quiksilver squabble a few more times.

Fnord, have you ever read Avengers vs X-Men? If you have you are going to hate it, because many of the same beats here are presented there. In fact Cyclops (and a few others) start slinging the passive-aggressive digs at the Avengers quite often post M-day.

@Jon- what I mean is Proctor tried to murder the Swordsman out of jealousy over Magdalene while Dane saved Pietro's life because he knew how much pain his death would cause Crystal. Another indication that Dane and Proctor are two sides of the same coin.

Anyone recall seeing the X-Men and Avengers promotional pieces that ran in some of the Marvel books in mid-1993, including Avengers #364? There is an image by Steve Epting & Tom Palmer of Magneto described as being "for the upcoming X-Men/Avengers crossover." Magneto is in a similar pose to how Exodus was drawn for the cover to #369. I've always wondered if that meant that "Fatal Attractions" was originally going to have a different ending, one that did not involve Magneto having his mind wiped by Xavier, and which would have led to him appearing in "Bloodties" as the main villain.

Jon, i did read AvX but i don't want to derail the comments on this entry. Generally speaking i like antagonism between the X-Men and the Avengers - the scrappy "outlaw" heroes vs. the establishment team - but i think the depictions of it are inconsistent and usually set up for the wrong reasons.

Ben, thanks for pointing that out. Here's the ad. I came close to hitting on that theory when i reviewed Avengers West Coast #101 and this ad does seem to lend support for that. It would make a lot more sense for the theme of the crossover ("Bloodties").

fnord, additionally, if you look at the letters pages from Avengers #366, the artwork printed underneath the text on the second page appears to be that image of Magneto from the house ad, with Quicksilver and Crystal crouching before him and holding hands. That's the same layout later used for the cover of #369, but Magneto was replaced with Exodus.

Having Magneto kidnap his granddaughter would have been such a better premise. Mag's overprotectiveness is one of my favorite aspects of his character.

Brian Cronin lists it as a "Just False Enough For a False" in his Legends Revealed series:
http://www.cbr.com/comic-book-legends-revealed-435/
Epting claims that the foil covers took so long to produce that they had to have the cover drawn before they had a firm plot in place. However, there was definitely some preliminary talk about Magneto being the villain.

Mystery solved! Thanks for the info, Michael.

The caption in the fourth scan says that the last time the Avengers and X-Men met, they battled over the rights of the man called Magneto. Should that be added as a reference to the X-Men vs. Avengers series?

Sure, thanks Michael.