Avengers #292: Review

Jun 1988

Walt Simonson, John Buscema

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Story Name:

The Dragon in the Sea

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #292 Review by T Vernon (May 6, 2024)

Comments: Part two of three parts.

Review: So, part two of “I Married a Sea Monster” continues with everybody agonizing over how to solve the problem of Marrina (cue the song from THE SOUND OF MUSIC) with some voting for death and others voting for help. And the story does lean heavily on that grim dilemma, generating some actual suspense and all that. Sadly, the rest of the issue is taken up with Dr. Druid still being a sleazy arrogant jerk, openly scheming to take over the team. And then there’s the Kang stuff which usually leaves me cold; perhaps I shall ask the advice of our local continuity expert, Rob Johnson.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #292 Synopsis by T Vernon

The Avengers have located the giant monster Leviathan and are ready to act against it when Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner arrives, revealing the creature is his wife Marrina, mutated by some unknown cause. Namor battles Thor, She-Hulk, and Black Knight in the sky as Leviathan devastates the Miami coast. Captain Marvel fires a bolt of energy plasma at the monster, causing it to flee, with Namor in pursuit. Thor dives underwater but they are already out of sight. Doctor Druid, flying the Quinjet, suggests they return to Hydrobase to plan their next action. She-Hulk thinks he sounds too eager to take command of the team. In flight, Druid has his recurring dream of a beautiful woman placing a crown on his head and presenting him to a large crowd of subjects—but Thor wakes him up before he crashes. Druid broods about the world’s imminent danger and the need for a stronger leader than Captain Marvel, someone like…Dr. Druid….

Back at the base, Black Knight assembles a file of all the information known about Marrina….

Underwater, Namor broods over Marrina, transformed into a monster, wondering if any part of the woman he loves is still in there. He determines to release her from her fate if possible….

Kang arrives before the Council of Kangs, three alternate versions of him sitting in judgment. The female Kang, called Kang-Nebula is also there. Kang suspects something is being hidden from him so he flashes a great light only to discover that the Council is not three Kangs but literally thousands….

At Avengers HQ, Dr. Druid informs the rest that the only course of action is to kill the Leviathan and as quickly as possible. Captain Marvel holds that they should be trying to help Marrina; She-Hulk concurs but Black Knight thinks her condition is too far gone for help, given the huge number of victims she could claim. Thor holds that the longer they delay the more danger the world is in—but he also points out that the Avengers have never chosen a course of action based on majority vote but left the final decision up to the elected leader, currently Captain Marvel. To that end they contact Dr. Hank Pym for advice and he asks for copies of all files on Marrina. They are interrupted by an SOS from a ship under attack by Leviathan. CM flashes out there in an instant and discovers that the ship is already destroyed. She blasts the monster but there is no reaction as it drags the wreck down into the depths. She returns to the Avengers just as a fleet of US Navy vessels arrives to deal with the crisis. Namor meets with the Commander, warning them away from the area. But it is the monster they are seeking. Leviathan approaches: Namor tries to persuade Marrina to depart but the Navy ships open fire on the monster. It does nothing. Leviathan attacks the ships. Namor seeks to rescue as many sailors as he can….

Word reaches the Avengers. Captain Marvel leads the Quinjet out to the site where they find all of the ships wrecked. They work to rescue the survivors, roping the lifeboats together in a chain and towing them to shore. A conversation with the Navy commander reveals a great deal of suspicion: Namor is an Avenger, one with a history of war against the human race—and now the Avengers are trying to protect him. Dr. Druid again questions CM’s thought and to himself decides that Marrina must die and he thinks he knows a way to ensure that….

Meanwhile, on the ocean bottom, Namor surveys the wreckage of the ships and finally decides that he must kill Marrina….

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