Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
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Avengers #84
Issue(s): Avengers #84
Cover Date: Jan 71
Title: "The sword and the sorceress!"
Credits:
Roy Thomas - Writer
John Buscema - Penciler
Frank Giacoia - Inker
Review/plot:
After teleporting away last issue, the Enchantress wound up in Arkon's dimension and become his ally. By coincidence, the Black Knight has arrived in Arkon's dimension also, looking for an enchanted well where he can destroy his sword, which it turns out is an evil demonic thing in danger of possessing him, a fact that his ancestor Sir Percy didn't think needed to be revealed to him until now.
Arkon, under the impression that the Black Knight is a spy preparing for an invasion by the Avengers, captures the Black Knight...
...and the Enchantress makes him her slave.
The Scarlet Witch has a premonition about all of this. The current Avengers don't have the means to travel to Arkon's dimension, but Thor does. He doesn't respond to their call, but the Black Panther apparently knows which tavern he hangs out at, so he goes and gets him.
After some battles by Buscema (who, we know, preferred this sort of swords & sorcery stuff to super-heroes)...
...Arkon realizes that the Black Knight was telling the truth. The Knight is able to throw his sword into the well, seemingly destroying it (of course, it will be back), and hostilities are ceased, with Arkon trying to apologize for his mistake. But the Avengers don't want to hear it.
Arkon was also snubbed earlier by the Scarlet Witch, who he offered to spare if she'd only marry him.
It's not said in this issue what happened to the Enchantress.
Quality Rating: C
Historical Significance Rating: 1
Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A
References:
- Arkon previously appeared in Avengers #75-76.
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
Inbound References (3): showCharacters Appearing: Aragorn, Arkon, Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Black Panther, Enchantress, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Vision 1971 / Box 6 / Silver Age Previous:
Sub-Mariner #33Up:
MainNext:
Amazing Spider-Man #93
Comments
The classic Buscema cover alone needs to bump this book into higher significance.
Not for the cover but maybe because this is the first allusion to the curse on the Black Knight's sword.
"While I live--and until I die--I am an Avenger." This is one of Scarlet Witch's best lines ever.
Regarding the rating - i think it's fine. Definitely not for a cover, and i don't think this iteration of Black Knight's curse has any great direct relevance on later stories.
At the end of the first scan my brain launched into the chorus of 'Stonehenge' by Spinal Tap.
