Aug 1978
The Menace of…Arsenal!
by Bill Mantlo, Keith Giffen, Bruce D. (Patterson)
The Avengers (Yellowjacket, Beast, Wonder Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Captain America) guest star in what feels like an issue of the team’s book. Iron Man has brought Unicorn to Avengers Mansion because he thinks he is dying. Yellowjacket conducts some tests on the subconscious villain. Unicorn wakes up, blasts a hole in the floor and falls through. The Avengers follow him down into their sub-basement.
A villain named Arsenal shows up and attacks the Avengers. There doesn’t seem to be any connection between Arsenal and the mysterious figure controlling the Unicorn. There is no explanation given as to where Arsenal comes from or what he is doing in the sub-basement of Avengers Mansion.
Unicorn is eventually subdued. Iron Man takes Unicorn with him back to Stark International at the end of the issue. Arsenal is more than a handful for the Avengers to deal with. He beats Shellhead’s teammates. It isn’t until Iron Man puts up some fierce resistance that he turns tail and runs. He vanishes in a flash of light. There is a note at the very end of the issue that promises that Arsenal will return soon in the pages of the Avengers. Based on my research he returns in Avengers Annual 9 (1979). He shows up again in Incredible Hulk 282 (Apr 1983) but after that nothing for at least a couple decades. Bill Mantlo wrote Avengers Annual 9 and Incredible Hulk 282.
Madame Masque shows up briefly. She goes to Tony Stark’s Manhattan penthouse apartment. There is also another glimpse at the thief at Stark Industries. Still no clue as to his ultimate goal or role in the larger story.
The regular art team is replaced by a team that will go on to draw a good portion of the Legion of Super-Heroes epic, the Great Darkness Saga, for DC Comics. Keith Giffen’s layouts aren’t exactly what they would later become but there is some similarity to his work on Legion of Superheroes.
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