Issue(s): Micronauts #24, Micronauts #25, Micronauts #26, Micronauts #27, Micronauts #28
Cover Date: Dec 80 - Apr 81
Title: "Computrex!" / "Deathbirth!" / "Assault on S.H.I.E.L.D." / "To snare men's souls!" / "...Last stand in Fantasy-World!"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
Pat Broderick - Co-plotter on #24
Pat Broderick - Penciler
Armando Gil / Dan Bulanadi - Inker

Review/plot:
The Micronauts fight an out of control computer called Computrex...

...and then fight Mentallo and the Fixer.

Meanwhile, the back-up Tales of the Micronauts stories continue to lead up to the resurrection of Baron Karza...

...and that becomes the main story after the Mentallo/Fixer plot.

Karza has allied himself with Hydra, so the Micronauts team up with SHIELD to defeat them in a pretty epic battle.

Karza was resurrected in the body of King Argon.

Brief cameo by Captain America, Iron Man, and the Vision. Fury sends an SOS message but it fails to reach them.

A Prince Pharoid, leader of the Aegyptians, joins the cast of the Micronauts in these issues (first as part of the back-ups, then the main story). He's not particularly interesting except that every time i see him i have to remind myself that Nighthawk isn't in this book.

Some pretty significant casualties during this war. Biotron dies. Queen Esmera, the ruler of Bug's people, stabs Karza with her suicide sting, killing her. Acroyear summons his planet's World Mind to fight Baron Karza, and his world is destroyed in the process (actually, the traitor Shaitan summons the planet but Acroyear wields it once it's arrived). The Enigma Force is driven out of Commander Rann's brain, rendering him comatose

These issues were kind of fun. Tons of stuff crammed into the art. The scripting, unfortunately, is a bit of a chore to get through, though.

Issue #24 has a map of the Micronauts' homeworld.

Click to de-micro size.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Just have to be careful of the Avengers' placement, especially Iron Man's since he's on vacation in the Caribbean between Iron Man #141 and #142.

References:

• The Micronauts have been living on the property of Odd John, who was featured in Micronauts #19-20.
  
• Karza was last defeated in Micronauts #11
  
• Inspecting SHIELD's headquarters, Bug finds a number of acroyears held in stasis, including one called Dagon. Bug says that SHIELD is no different than Professor Prometheus, seen in Micronauts #5-8, who also experimented on the Micronauts.
  

• Shield sent the Fantastic Four to the Microverse in Micronauts #15-17, but the FF refused to give SHIELD any good info.
  
• Prior to Micronauts #1, anyone who tried to breach the barrier between Earth and the Microverse were slain by the spacewall.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

"Odd John" may be a reference to the same-name novel by Philip Jose Farmer.

Odd John was a science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon, and was written long before Farmer was on the scene.