Avengers: "Even A God Can Die!"

Avengers #275 (1987)

By Roger Stern, John Buscema, Tom Palmer

Background: The Masters of Evil (Baron Zemo, Moonstone, Blackout, the Wrecking Crew, Tiger Shark, Yellowjacket, the Fixer, Mister Hyde, Absorbing Man, Titania) have conquered Avengers Mansion, capturing Jarvis, the Black Knight and Captain America. With Namor away for personal reasons, Captain Marvel imprisoned in the dark dimension and Hercules seemingly killed, the Wasp is the last Avenger standing.

So, What Happens? The Masters of Evil keep ransacking Avengers Mansion, but all Zemo is interested in is breaking Captain America's spirit. Seeing that his enemy is still confident that the Wasp will turn things around, Zemo orders the Absorbing Man and Titania to go to the hospital where she's keeping vigil on Hercules to finish her off. Meanwhile, a distraught Jan receives the visit of Scott Lang, who has succeeded Hank Pym as Ant-Man, and tearfully confesses to him that she feels responsible for what has happened. For a moment it looks like Hercules has died because from his injuries, but later the doctors find a weak pulse. Suddenly the Absorbing Man and Titania attack the hospital, a seemingly unstoppable force for Wasp and Ant-Man, but a determined Janet fights like never before, making the most of any advantage, situation and enemy weakness, so incredibly eventually the heroes triumph. Meanwhile, Zemo destroys some old photos and properties of Cap, but when that's not enough to break him, he orders Hyde to kill the prisoners starting from Jarvis, who suffers a brutal beating at the hands of Mister Hyde. What Zemo doesn't know is that the Wasp is ready for a counter-attack, and that Captain Marvel is still alive in the darkforce dimension. 

Notes: Zemo recalls the events of Captain America #301, where he was seemingly killed by Mother Superior. Apparently his headband shielded him enough to survive, and seeing the Avengers fly in to help Cap gave him the idea to destroy them to hurt him. The Absorbing Man first met Titania during the Secret Wars and they have been an item ever since. The Black Knight finally regains consciousness, but a force field prevents him from summonning his Ebony Sword despite Merlin's enchantment. 

Something Silly This Way Comes: With the element of surprise lost, why weakening the Masters by allowing Tiger Shark to leave?

Review: The turning point after the crisis. At its core, I consider the Under Siege storyline to be focused around three characters: Baron Zemo, Captain America and the Wasp. Zemo has been front and center in the first two issues, and Cap will have his moments later on, but now it's time for Janet to step up and prove herself the determined, competent leader she will be forever regarded as. And not a moment too soon, because - even though Stern hadn't put too much overt emphasis on it - up until now she had played a part in pretty much all the conflict and drama befalling the team, not realizing or caring that the Black Knight was obviously attracted by her, and arguing with Hercules head on to the point of antagonizing him instead of looking for more diplomatic solutions. This isn't to say that everything had been her fault nor that it had been done willingly, but she had certainly been a little self-centered and showed a lack of empathy, creating an opening for Zemo to exploit, so her taking responsibility is a nice touch.

Speaking of Zemo, the first few cracks in his plan start to appear. Employing  superior numbers had been one of the most important parts of his strategy, so letting Tiger Shark leave because he's not needed anymore doesn't make much sense, regardless of all the nonsense about heightening the fear and confusion of the population. Trying to keep the Mansion is equally short-sighted, as it's obvious that the heroes would reassemble and strike back, and by staying at the Mansion Zemo offers a clear target. Even assuming Titania and the Absorbing Man had killed Hercules and Wasp, and even with the West Coast Avengers and Fantastic Four out of the way, New York has plenty of heroes to offer and it would have been far more logical to dispose of the prisoners and retreat. From an internal point of view it looks like Zemo is relying too much on Blackout and his barrier, but from an external one it's clear that Stern is already starting to pave the way for the Masters' defeat.

It's good to see Scott Lang again, a character who has been written in a number of different ways depending on whoever is at the helm. I've never been too impressed by him as a wise-cracking hero, but this time he has some wise advice and a shoulder to cry on to offer. The battle between him, Wasp, Titania and the Absorbing Man is one of those that stretch credibility to a breaking point, not so much because Scott and Jan could never win but because the way they win feels wrong and the villains seem to take just too much damage from the heroes' attacks. But still, the Avengers needed a win to turn things around, and here it comes.

We also have Jarvis' beating at the hands of Hyde, in its own way even more violent and brutal than Hercules' because the poor butler is a harmless civilian, and because Buscema and Palmer choose not to show it directly, focusing instead on Cap's and the Knight's horrified expressions. In recent years Zemo has edged closer to becoming an occasional anti-hero, and I actually quite like him that way, but there's no doubt he was a villain through and through here, having Jarvis tortured only to break Cap's spirit.

Next time it's part four, a few familiar faces return and the Avengers finally mount a counter-attack. Stay tuned!

Final Verdict: A couple of forced moments in an otherwise excellent story. 4/5