Avengers (1963) 274

Avengers (1963) 274
Dec 1986

Divided…We Fall!
by Roger Stern, John Buscema, Tom Palmer

The Black Knight returns to Avengers Mansion and walks right into the trap that the Masters of Evil set for him. He was still mulling over how the evening with the Wasp went when Yellowjacket attacks him and then runs. He chases her and is surprised by Mister Hyde who jumps through a wall to attack him. He is knocked out fairly quickly.

Captain Marvel receives a summons from the Wasp. What she doesn’t know is that it wasn’t the Wasp who contacted her. Captain Marvel rushes to Avengers Mansion from New Orleans. The first thing she sees is Jarvis and the Black Knight, prisoners. The next and last thing she sees is Blackout. He uses the Dark Force to surround her and make her disappear. It isn’t clear what happened to her or where she went but I’m pretty sure she can’t be dead.

Captain America returns from Florida. He just finished dealing with Whirlwind and Trapster. This fight took place in Captain America 324, which I have not read but is mentioned in an editor’s note. He tried calling the Mansion. He spoke to someone who sounded like Wasp but didn’t seem like her and decided to play it safe. He drops in on her at home and tells her all about it. Together they head to the mansion.

Wasp sneaks into the Mansion and does some reconnaissance. She gets the lay of the land, even talks to Jarvis before rejoining Cap outside the Mansion. Hercules arrives in a taxi cab as they are discussing their options. He’s drunk and when they explain what’s going on he insists on dealing with it himself. He doesn’t respect the Wasp’s leadership and says so. He crashes into the Mansion. He gets into fight with Tiger Shark but it isn’t long before some of the other villains join the fight. Hercules gets beat down pretty good.

Wasp and Captain America try to help him. They are apprehended before they even get up the front walk. The Wasp escapes but Cap is captured. Blackout, guided by Moonstone, envelops Avengers Mansion in the Dark Force. Wasp and a couple police officers stare dumbfounded first at the Mansion and then at Hercules. He is thrown from the building and seems to be dead.

Good read. Well worth the wait. The Avengers are down but not out. I like how the character moments are threaded through the story. The Black Knight and Hercules being the notable ones.