Avengers West Coast #54Issue(s): Avengers West Coast #54 Review/plot: Or more the to point, Giganto and Tricephalous. Iron Man picks up Giganto, like he once did with Godzilla (he says that his armor gives him a lift of 85 tons)... ...and while he's flying out to sea, he's met by USAgent, who hasn't been around in a while. USAgent just wants Iron Man to kill Giganto, but as Iron Man says, we've all read enough science fiction stories to know that's not a good idea until you know what's going on, so he just takes him out to shallow sea and he and USAgent try to hold him there. Here's John Byrne pre-empting my so big, so fast alert. Awwww! Meanwhile, Wonder Man and the Human Torch enter the tunnel that Giganto left behind to figure out what's going on. They're attacked by smaller monsters controlled by the Mole Man. Mole Man is under the impression that the Avengers had previously attacked him, similar to the situation with the U-Foes last issue. Wonder Man therefore just stands there and lets Mole Man attack him until he believes that he's been duped, then he recalls Giganto. Tricephalous has separately attacking the contingent of West Coasters that had gone out east after the end of last issue. The Vision has opted to remain behind, triggering Scarlet Witch to go comatose again (See? She does have relapses!). When Tricephalous attacks the Quinjet, Magneto secretly helps bring it down to the ground safely. And Henry Pym takes care of Tricephalous. C'mon, Wasp. Do you really have to ask what he's going to do? What does he always do? In the end the Avengers call up the East Coast branch and everybody puts their heads together and figures out that there's a coordinated attack on the Avengers going on. I do like the idea that the attacks on other heroes is more random, and that even jibes with some of the events of books like Moon Knight and Alpha Flight where they aren't following the standard Acts of Vengeance format. I would say that attacks on Spider-Man are actually pretty damn coordinated, but who knows what it looks like from the Avengers' perspective. Despite being a core part of the crossover (which is just another way of saying it's an Avengers book), this is really a standard Acts of Vengeance issue, at least until the end. Just a big fun fight with some of the Mole Man's monsters. And it is fun. Quality Rating: B+ Chronological Placement Considerations: We have unresolvable time related issues regarding half of the West Coast's team traveling East for Avengers #312. That's why i'm very liberally interpreting the dialogue around Scarlet Witch's comas. This issue also begins with Iron Man, Human Torch, and Wonder Man still searching for the U-Foes, making it sound like it hasn't been long since last issue. But we'll have to assume that they've really been searching for a longer period of time. Note that it's said in the final scenes that the Superhuman Registration Act is still being debated in the House Committee, which probably means that this story is happening concurrently with Fantastic Four #335-336, although it's also possible the Committee is still pretending to debate the Act behind closed doors to save face after their quick reversal at the end of FF #336, or maybe someone changed their mind and re-opened the debate, etc.. References: N/A Crossover: Acts of Vengeance Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A Inbound References (3): showCharacters Appearing: Captain America, Giganto (Subterranean), Henry Pym, Human Torch (Golden Age), Iron Man, Loki, Magneto, Mole Man, Quasar, Scarlet Witch, Tricephalous, USAgent, Vision, Wasp, Wonder Man CommentsIt is a bit surprising that Iron Man does not recognize Giganto. He was, after all, very public back in Fantastic Four #1, and it should be easy to remember monsters of his size, or at least to remember that they were met early on the age of heroes. Posted by: Luis Dantas | April 3, 2015 6:52 PM Hey what do Giganto and older Gamera have in common? They're both far too light for their weight. Gamera was 60 meters/196 feet and was only 80 tons where Showa Godzilla was smaller and over 20,000 tons. Iron Man is going to need a few dozen Hulkbuster armors to lift Giganto I think. Posted by: david banes | April 3, 2015 8:05 PM I always thought it was weird when Jan said that she couldn't carry Hank to safety. She was able to carry Absorbing Man a short distance in Avengers 275. Posted by: Michael | April 3, 2015 10:47 PM Wasn't Giganto the whale-monster the Sub-Mariner controlled in FF#4? Is this monster actually called Giganto in this issue? Posted by: Mark Drummond | April 4, 2015 12:33 AM You're right Mark. That was a Giganto too, and the first (in the MU) to be given that name. This creature is called Giganto in this story, but i believe it's the first time it is given a name. Byrne previously used the creature in FF #264 and didn't use a name for it then. I've now separated out the tags for the two Gigantos. Thanks! Posted by: fnord12 | April 4, 2015 12:54 AM Byrne is treating Pym very respectfully here. Pym hasn't been this confidant and competent since his Ant-Man days. I'm not sure who the official leader is at the WCA now (or even if there is one with Cap's reorganization), but he is the WCA chairman in all but name during this run. Posted by: Chris | April 7, 2015 12:33 AM That he is, Chris. Posted by: Luis Dantas | April 7, 2015 12:45 AM As the letters pages make clear, NOBODY was clear who the official leader was- they finally get around to electing one in issue 70. Posted by: Michael | April 7, 2015 7:47 AM I liked that these villains had to be tricked into fighting the avengers. they didnt just do it because Loki told them to. Posted by: kveto | April 8, 2015 3:31 PM Yeah, Hank basically acts as chairman for a long stretch here and it's really the most leadership he's ever shown during his long history on the team. Posted by: Erik Beck | September 26, 2015 12:42 PM USAgent claims to be the team's leader/chairperson but none of the members particularly pay attention to him. Posted by: Scott | November 28, 2015 12:34 PM This issue has one of my favourite (if not most favourite of all) homage covers. Great FF #1 recreation. Posted by: AF | April 27, 2016 10:11 AM What´s means Wasp when she says that she don´t wants lose again Pym? What I´ve missed? Posted by: Lord_Pengallan | December 26, 2017 6:09 AM I think she's referring to their divorce. Posted by: Michael | December 26, 2017 7:30 AM Comments are now closed. |
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