Avengers #265: Review

Mar 1986

Roger Stern, Tom Palmer

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Story Name:

Eve of Destruction

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #265 Review by T Vernon (September 9, 2023)

Comments: Issue bannered “SECRET WARS II.” The Avengers have no idea where Wasp is and neither do I; everything seems normal in her listed appearances since issue #264, she is missing from this issue and appears in SECRET WARS II #9 with no explanation.

Review: So, from a tiny woman battling a rookie villain in her front yard to a near-omnipotent being threatening the dissolve the universe; this must be one of the greatest contrasts between two issues. This issue divides into two parts: the first is the vortex scene, showing our heroes in danger and how they escape; it is a fun sequence and the highlight of the book. The second is the Avengers versus Beyonder “battle” which is more important to the SECRET WARS II event because it leads into the big climax with Beyonder plotting to destroy the world. Sadly, this half of the issue sums up as “Beyonder gets mad.” Not that interesting, just essential to the epic.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #265 Synopsis by T Vernon

Story continued from SECRET WARS II #8.

Several Avengers—Hercules, Captain Marvel, Black Knight, and Sub-Mariner—are trapped in a tornado created by the Beyonder, now speeding through the American Midwest. CM tries using electrical currents to stop the twister, Namor tries running the opposite direction, Black Knight swings his Ebony Blade but all these fail. It’s Hercules who claps his hands and disperses the vortex, creating a second problem: they are plummeting from one thousand feet in the air. Flying Namor catches Black Knight and holds him up, CM takes control of the Quinjet, but poor Herc falls all the way down and into a farmer’s barn. Herc is annoyed that Namor didn’t catch him but BK defends Subby who had his hands full of the Knight and, besides, Herc was the most likely Avenger to come out of that fall unscathed. Which he did. Herc and Subby end up quarrelling anyway so CM has to discourage them with lightning. The two big guys work together to pull the Quinjet out of the lake where she brought it down. The dumbfounded farmer is given a number to call for reimbursement for his demolished barn and BK admires CM’s leadership qualities….

Captain America awakens in a hollow inside a Colorado mountain, manacled to a wall. The Beyonder reveals his plan to end the universe because it disturbs him and he wants his feeling of contentment back….

The Avengers discover Beyonder’s location through a device in the Quinjet, but then they are at a loss. They have sent a call out to any other available heroes but can’t wait for help to arrive. Hercules suggests killing the Beyonder as he once killed the giant Antaeus by exploiting his weakness (the giant was invulnerable drawing strength from the ground; Herc held him in the air while he killed him) but the Beyonder has no known weaknesses. Namor realizes the only option with such a being is to surrender…and then he has an idea….

Back in the cavern, the Beyonder sleeps so Cap manages to loosen his hands within his gauntlets and slip out of the manacles. Realizing the Beyonder may dream and accidentally wipe out the universe in his sleep, Cap decides to knock him unconscious and leaps—only to be frozen in midair; Beyonder wanted to see what Cap would do and he is disappointed that Cap, his model for humanity, chose violence. He ponders leaving Cap in the suspension field for eternity but he hears Namor outside, asking to enter. Beyonder phases Namor through the wall and the former King of Atlantis begs his new master’s forgiveness on his knees. They go off and Hercules, Captain Marvel, and Black Knight crash in and try to free Cap from the force field. But the Beyonder already knows everything and has trapped Namor in a similar field; he hurls Namor at Cap, cancelling both stasis fields. Herc tries to rebuke him but Beyonder grows into a giant being, repelling all of their attacks while wallowing in his despair. He absorbs CM in lightning form and hurls her back at the others. The Avengers are overwhelmed and Beyonder almost has admiration for their heroism but no, he can’t leave anyone alive….

Story continued in SECRET WARS II #9.

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